Hermine remains post-tropical storm, not expected to directly impact our region

Hermine rose over the Gulf of Mexico and hit Florida on Friday as a category one hurricane before weakening to a tropical storm across Georgia.

A medical examiner’s office has yet to determine whether the storm was the cause, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said. The storm was centered about 140 miles (225 kilometers) southwest of Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Tropical Storm Hermine may be moving away from North Carolina’s coast, but the storms strong winds are still causing problems on the Outer Banks.

A Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect for Southern Fairfield, Southern New Haven, Southern Middlesex, Southern New London, Hudson, Eastern Essex, Eastern Union, Southern Westchester, New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Richmond (Staten Island), Kings (Brooklyn), Northwestern Suffolk, Northeastern Suffolk, Southwestern Suffolk, Southeastern Suffolk, northern Queens, northern Nassau, southern Queens and Southern Nassau.

“It’s going to sit offshore and it is going to be a tremendous coastal event with a risky storm surge and lots of larger waves probably causing significant beach erosion, for the next few days”, said senior hurricane specialist Daniel Brown.

State of emergency declared in 51 Florida counties, 56 counties in Georgia and 33 in North Carolina.

Eli White covers his face from the blowing sand in Nags Head, N.C., as the tail of Tropical Storm Hermine passes the Outer Banks, Sept. 3, 2016.

Storm Hermine is regaining power as it moves up the United States eastern seaboard, threatening the north-east with risky coastal surges.

Michael Mann at Pennsylvania State University noted that this century’s 0.3-metre sea-level rise in New York City meant 65 more square kilometres flooded during Superstorm Sandy, causing billions more in damage.

Heavy rains and harmful flooding is a possibility as forecasters say Hermine could reach wind speeds up to 75 miles per hour on Sunday. The bridges were reopened later Saturday.

Winds, estimated between 96 to 110 kph, blew an 18-wheeler across highway lanes in North Carolina and propelled the cab into the railing of a bridge, killing the unidentified driver, Tyrrell County Sheriff Darryl Liverman said. On friday, a homeless man was killed by a falling tree in Florida.

States of emergency have been declared for coastal counties in New Jersey and Delaware. High surf and strong rip currents will also continue for the next several days.

Though the storm’s ultimate track remained uncertain Saturday afternoon, forecasters and officials were warning residents to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

He called the weekend “definitely disappointing”.

“Right now, it’s looking like we’re not having much of any beach fun”, she told CNN. And a man trying to remove a tree that fell on a highway near Cottageville, South Carolina, on Friday was struck by a auto and died on Saturday.

The storm will then turn north and regain strength on Sunday and stall off the coast Sunday night into Monday.

“It was a little overhyped by the media”, said Andrew Thulin, assistant general manager of Daddy O Hotel Restaurant in Long Beach Township, New Jersey.

Information for this article was contributed by Seth Borenstein, Jeffrey Collins, Tamara Lush, Bruce Shipkowski and Jeff Martin of The Associated Press and by Alan Blinder of The New York Times.