Florida’s Gulf coast braces for Tropical Storm Hermine

Updated at 1:45 p.m. with a briefing from JEA.

Tropical Storm Hermine is starting to increase in forward speed as it moves toward the Gulf Coast of Florida.

The storm is expected to make landfall in Florida early Friday and by early Saturday the center of circulation should be near the Wilmington area. Winds are expected to range from 15-40 miles per hour with gusts up to 55 mph.

The hurricane center also said in an advisory that another storm, Hurricane Gaston, will move near the Azores on Friday.

Pappas said extra crews have been working on clearing areas with drainage issues.

Hermine caps off a week of rare and intense storms for the U.S.

Duval County after-school activities, Extended Day and Team Up activities are canceled for Thursday. The National Weather Service indicates that the strongest winds and greatest tornado risk are predicted as students would ordinarily be in transit and arriving at school in the morning.

Workers install storm shutters on a store front as they prepare for Tropical Storm Hermine Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016, in Cedar Key, Fla. No animals will be permitted at the shelter.

A hurricane warning was already in effect for a section of Florida’s Gulf coast from the Suwanne River to Mexico Beach.

The storm, spinning in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday morning, threatens to slam into the Panhandle area or just south of it after midnight, bringing heavy rain and possible unsafe storm surges.

Scott said he has been talking with communities bracing for Hermine’s impacts and is closely monitoring the storm with forecasters at the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee, which is under a hurricane warning.

Weekend conditions on Long Island are highly dependent on the ultimate track and intensity of Hermine, forecasters say.

WIND: Winds are expected to first reach tropical storm strength by this afternoon, making outside preparations hard or unsafe.

Friday night lights will be Thursday night lights in many areas of SC this week.

Areas to the west could see rain of 5-10 inches, while more coastal areas are forecasted to get 4-8 inches of rain.

The worst conditions from Hermine in SC are expected to be during the day on Friday. Flash flooding will be a concern during the times of heaviest rain. By late in the afternoon into the evening, rain could be heavy at times, especially in eastern sections closer to the track.

The earlier prediction of a Thursday landfall with a potential path through the area sent officials in St. Johns County into planning mode, generating a number of news releases and warnings about the looming threat.