Hermine looms as first hurricane to make landfall in Florida in 11 years

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist

September 1,2016; 10:12PM,EDT

 

 

Hermine is bearing down on Florida and will deliver heavy rain, gusty winds, flooding and the risk of tornadoes into Friday.
The storm became a Category 1 hurricane shortly before 3 p.m. EDT Thursday.
The last hurricane to make landfall in Florida was Wilma in 2005.
This is a closeup live loop of Hermine. (NOAA/Satellite)
The center of Hermine has made the anticipated northeastward turn and is located about 40 miles southeast of Apalachicola, Florida, and 95 miles west of Cedar Key, Florida.
"We expect Hermine make landfall north of Tampa, in the Big Bend of Florida during late Thursday night into early Friday morning," according to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski.

In advance of the storm, Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a State of Emergency to help 51 counties prepare. A mandatory evacuation notice has been issued for Franklin County, located along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico on the Florida Panhandle.
Several Florida schools have announced closings on Thursday or Friday due to the storm. Florida State University's main campus in Tallahassee, Florida, will be closed from noon Thursday into Friday, officials announced Thursday morning. University of South Florida in Tampa will also be closed on Friday.
Some airlines are waving flight change fees in the path of the storm.
The storm will unload a general 4-8 inches of rain with locally 12-18 inches possible. This rainfall is enough to cause urban and low-lying area flooding.

Near and just south of the center of Hermine, onshore winds will push Gulf of Mexico water landward and are likely to cause coastal flooding. Major cities that can be affected by coastal flooding include Tampa and St. Petersburg, Florida, even if the storm makes landfall 100 miles or more to the north.
In addition to the risk of flooding, locally severe thunderstorms will have the potential to bring damaging wind gusts. Near and shortly after the storm makes landfall, there will be a significant risk of waterspouts and tornadoes being spawned in central and northern Florida.

Florida cities that will be at risk for tornadoes include Tampa, Orlando, Ocala, The Villages, Melbourne, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Daytona Beach and Tallahassee.
The risk of isolated tornadoes will extend northeastward into parts of Georgia and the Carolinas into Friday.
People in the central and northern part of the Florida Peninsula and the eastern part of the Florida Panhandle should be prepared for tropical storm to minimal hurricane conditions with power outages, flooded roads and airline disruptions.
Sea and surf conditions will be dangerous along the Florida west coast into Friday and along the upper east coast Thursday night into Saturday.
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After traversing the Florida Peninsula on Thursday night, the storm will continue northeastward across part of Georgia on Friday. In this position, rough surf, gusty winds and heavy rains will lash coastal areas.

The storm is likely to bring a period of torrential rainfall and raise the risk of flash and urban flooding over portions of Georgia and the Carolinas, despite prior dryness issues. The risk of power outages will continue on a sporadic level. Coastal flooding is also likely.
Significant impact from Hermine will not be limited to the southeastern U.S.
Beyond the Carolinas on Saturday, Hermine may ruin coastal Northeast Labor Day weekend plans.