Hurricane specialist Eric Blake works at the National Hurricane Center to track the path of Tropical Storm Hermine, which strengthened this morning and is expected to make landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast as a hurricane by by tomorrow on September 1, 2016 in Miami, Florida. The National Hurricane Center forecasters are urging people to be ready for the possibility of the state's first hurricane in nearly 11 years.</s>000 WTNT34 KNHC 240234 TCPAT4 BULLETIN Post-Tropical Cyclone Chantal Advisory Number 13 NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL042019 1100 PM AST Fri Aug 23 2019 ...CHANTAL BECOMES A REMNANT LOW... ...THIS IS THE LAST ADVISORY... SUMMARY OF 1100 PM AST...0300 UTC...INFORMATION ----------------------------------------------- LOCATION...35.6N 40.9W ABOUT 785 MI...1265 KM W OF THE AZORES MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...30 MPH...45 KM/H PRESENT MOVEMENT...S OR 185 DEGREES AT 6 MPH...9 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1014 MB...29.95 INCHES WATCHES AND WARNINGS -------------------- There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect. DISCUSSION AND OUTLOOK ---------------------- At 1100 PM AST (0300 UTC), the center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Chantal was located near latitude 35.6 North, longitude 40.9 West. The post-tropical cyclone is moving toward the south near 6 mph (9 km/h). A turn toward the southwest and west is expected over the weekend, followed by a slow motion toward the northwest Sunday night and Monday. Maximum sustained winds are near 30 mph (45 km/h) with higher gusts. Gradual weakening is anticipated and Chantal is forecast to dissipate on Monday. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1014 mb (29.95 inches). HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND ---------------------- None. NEXT ADVISORY ------------- This is the last public advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center on Chantal. Additional information on this system can be found in High Seas Forecasts issued by the National Weather Service, under AWIPS header NFDHSFAT1, WMO header FZNT01 KWBC, and online at ocean.weather.gov/shtml/NFDHSFAT1.php $$ Forecaster Zelinsky</s>By Faith Karimi and Steve Almasy, From CNN

CNN)Hurricane Hermine made landfall early Friday in Florida with a furious mix of rain, whistling winds and surging waves — then weakened into a tropical storm as it wobbled toward Georgia.

 Hermine, which had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, was the first hurricane to come ashore in Florida since Wilma struck 11 years ago.

 It made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in the Big Bend area, a part of the Gulf Coast where the state’s peninsula meets the Panhandle.

 In Tallahassee, more than 100,000 utility customers were without power as winds and rain lashed the city, according to the mayor’s office.

 Downgraded

 A few hours after landfall, Hermine had weakened into a tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.

 All hurricane watches and warnings were dropped, but tropical storm warnings remained for parts of the Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia and up through North Carolina.

 By dawn Friday, the tropical storm was 20 miles west of Valdosta, Georgia, and moving north at 14 mph, according to the hurricane center.

 “This motion is expected to continue today and Saturday,” the center said. “On the forecast track, the center of Hermine should continue to move farther inland across southeastern Georgia today and into the Carolinas tonight and Saturday.”

 Its maximum sustained winds decreased to 70 mph, with additional weakening forecast as it moves farther inland.

 ‘You cannot rebuild a life’

 After its short reign as a hurricane, it’s expected to spawn a few tornadoes in northern Florida and southern Georgia. A tornado watch was in effect for dozens of Florida and Georgia counties until 8 a.m. ET Friday.

 In Florida, life-threatening flooding remains a risk as rain has pounded the Gulf Coast since Wednesday. Forecasters say much more is in store.

 Hermine could bring up to 10 inches of additional rainfall to some places, including Tallahassee — with up to 15 inches possible in some areas, forecasters said.

 Several Florida counties issued mandatory evacuation notices for Gulf Coast communities on the water or in low-lying areas.

 Parts of Georgia also are expected to get up to 10 inches of rain over the weekend.

 Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday urged residents to heed warnings about the storm. “We have a hurricane. You can rebuild a home. You can rebuild property. You cannot rebuild a life.”

 Hurricane Hermine storms into Florida

 Photos: Hurricane Hermine storms into Florida

 Sgt. Andy Pace and Lt. Allen Ham with the Franklin County Sheriff's Department jump-start one of their vehicles as Hurricane Hermine approaches.

 Traffic moves along US 98 as Hurricane Hermine approaches Eastpoint, Florida, on September 1.

 Power crews with Pike Electric in South Carolina arrive in Carrabelle, Florida, on the Florida Gulf Coast as Hurricane Hermine approaches on September 1.

 Sunken and beached boats line the shoreline in Eastpoint, Florida, as Hurricane Hermine approaches.

 Residents of the Sandpiper Resort survey the rising water coming from the Gulf of Mexico into their neighborhood as winds and storm surge from Hurricane Hermine affect the area on Thursday, September 1, in Holmes Beach, Florida.

 Workers install storm shutters on a storefront as they prepare for Hurricane Hermine on September 1.

 A resident of the Sandpiper Resort in Holmes Beach, Florida, surveys the rising water coming from the Gulf of Mexico because of Hurricane Hermine.

 Sgt. Andy Pace and Lt. Allen Ham with the Franklin County Sheriff's Department jump-start one of their vehicles as Hurricane Hermine approaches.

 Traffic moves along US 98 as Hurricane Hermine approaches Eastpoint, Florida, on September 1.

 Power crews with Pike Electric in South Carolina arrive in Carrabelle, Florida, on the Florida Gulf Coast as Hurricane Hermine approaches on September 1.

 Sunken and beached boats line the shoreline in Eastpoint, Florida, as Hurricane Hermine approaches.

 Residents of the Sandpiper Resort survey the rising water coming from the Gulf of Mexico into their neighborhood as winds and storm surge from Hurricane Hermine affect the area on Thursday, September 1, in Holmes Beach, Florida.

 Workers install storm shutters on a storefront as they prepare for Hurricane Hermine on September 1.

 A resident of the Sandpiper Resort in Holmes Beach, Florida, surveys the rising water coming from the Gulf of Mexico because of Hurricane Hermine.

 Sgt. Andy Pace and Lt. Allen Ham with the Franklin County Sheriff's Department jump-start one of their vehicles as Hurricane Hermine approaches.

 He told residents not to drive into standing water and to avoid downed power lines, saying crews were working hard to ensure limited disruptions.

 “We have 6,000 members of the national guard ready to be mobilized,” he said.

 Scott declared a state of emergency for 51 of the state’s 67 counties. He ordered all state offices in those 51 counties to close.

 Hours before landfall, Hermine was lashing Apalachicola, St. Petersburg and other cities.

A video posted by Joanna Crandell (@chica_de_aqua) on Sep 1, 2016 at 3:17pm PDT

The surge of ocean water could be as high as 9 feet above normal levels, forecasters said, as authorities warned its effect was not limited to Florida.

The storm is expected to deluge coastal Mid-Atlantic states from Virginia to New Jersey, beginning early Saturday, the hurricane center said.

 The National Weather Service issued a new online product to help people prepare for the storm. The storm surge watch/warning graphic highlights spots with the highest risk for “life-threatening inundation from storm surge,” the service said.

 ‘Lock down the house and pray’

 In Apalachicola, on the Panhandle coast, contractors Lake Smith and Joshua Wolfhagen boarded up windows in a two-story brick building about 60 feet from the waterfront.

 “Storm (surge) is what got me worried right now,” Smith said. “Mostly worried about washing out the roads and a few of the homes in low-lying areas.”

 Eddie Bass, who owns a home in Alligator Point, said he wasn’t boarding it up despite worries about the storm surge.

 “It’s not much you can do. You just got to bring everything you can. Lock down the house and pray,” he said.

 In Panama City, a popular Labor Day destination, organizers canceled one of the major tourist draws, the Gulf Coast Jam. Officials said the stage for the three-day country music event had to be taken down as the winds picked up.

 Emergency management officials in Taylor County said mandatory evacuations were ordered for coastal communities. Nearby Wakulla County also had mandatory evacuations for low-lying areas.

 Franklin County, just southeast of Panama City, issued a mandatory evacuation order for the coastal towns of St. George Island, Dog Island, Bald Point and Alligator Point, the county’s emergency management office said.

 Zika concerns dismissed

 The storm may leave behind large areas of standing water, but one expert said it shouldn’t increase fears over the Zika virus.

“We associate severe rain events like tropical events and hurricanes with increases in nuisance mosquitoes, not disease-spreading (mosquitoes),” said Ben Beard of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 The type of mosquito that could potentially carry Zika is affected by heavy rain and flooding, which also washes away larvae from small breeding sites such as bird baths and flower pots.

 Nuisance mosquitoes will breed in water that remains standing after the storm passes.

In Georgia, Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for 56 counties.

 And in North Carolina, Gov. Pat McCrory issued a state of emergency for 33 eastern counties.

For more on this story go to: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/02/us/hurricane-hermine/</s>Tropical Storm Hermine strengthened into a hurricane Thursday as it continued churning on a path toward Florida, US forecasters said.

At 1855 GMT, data from an Air Force hurricane hunter plane indicated that maximum sustained winds in Hermine were about 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.

That would make it a Category One hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Hermine is the fourth Atlantic hurricane of 2016.

The storm was located about 175 miles west of Tampa, Florida and moving north-northeast at 14 miles per hour.

A hurricane warning was in effect for northern Florida and authorities warned of potential strong winds and storm surges that could cause flooding.

"Hurricane conditions are expected to reach the coast within the warning area beginning tonight," the National Hurricane Center said.

"Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion."

With the tropical storm approaching, intensifying winds threaten to make outside preparations "difficult or dangerous," it added.

Governor Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency in 51 counties to free up resources to brace for the storm.

The center of Hermine is expected to be near the Florida coast in the warning area by late Thursday night or early Friday, forecasters said.</s>TAMPA, Fla., Aug 31 (Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott declared an emergency on Wednesday, with parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast under a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch from an approaching system that forecasters warned could bring life-threatening flooding and fierce winds.

Storm preparations were also underway off the U.S. Pacific coast, where residents of Hawaii's Big Island were warned of an encroaching hurricane, as well as another brewing hurricane that could impact the state over the weekend.

In Florida, Scott declared an emergency in 42 of the state's 67 counties in advance of an expected tropical storm that could make landfall on the north-central Gulf Coast between late Thursday and early Friday.

Heavy rains were already pounding parts of the state on Wednesday morning. As much as 15 inches (38 cm) could fall from central to northern Florida, National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

The approaching system, currently an unnamed tropical depression packing 35 mph (55 kph) winds with higher gusts, is expected to strengthen as it heads east. Forecasters said it could be near hurricane strength at landfall.

On its current path, the system would also bring heavy rain into coastal areas of Georgia and the Carolinas on its way to the Atlantic Ocean.

Another unnamed tropical depression was turning out to sea on Wednesday after threatening the North Carolina coast, according to the hurricane center.

On Hawaii's Big Island, residents were warned that Hurricane Madeline will bring strong winds and heavy rains as it passes over the area, beginning late on Wednesday. Another brewing hurricane could potentially impact the state over the weekend.

The National Weather Service (NWS) tracked Hurricane Madeline swirling about 200 miles (320 km) east of the town of Hilo around 2 a.m. local time on Wednesday.

Madeline was ranked as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (150 kph), the weather service said.

The County of Hawaii sent residents an alert about the hurricane's dangers, including heavy rains that could lead to mudslides, as well as possibly damaging ocean swells.

"Preparations to protect life and property should be completed by nightfall today," the alert said. (Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Marguerita Choy)</s>HILO, Hawaii – A tropical storm left parts of Hawaii’s Big Island soggy but intact Thursday as residents of the island state prepared for a second round of potentially volatile tropical weather. Hawaii Island was pummeled with heavy rain and powerful waves overnight, but residents woke to blue skies and little damage after Madeline skirted the island. Hurricane Lester remains on track to affect the islands this weekend and was upgraded to a Category 3 storm Thursday afternoon.

CARRABELLE, Fla. – Hurricane Hermine gained strength late Thursday as it roared toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, churning up rough surf that battered docks and boathouses as people braced for the first direct hit on the state from a hurricane in over a decade.

The National Hurricane Center said the storm’s top sustained winds rose from 75 mph in the afternoon to 80 mph by nightfall as the former tropical storm gained new fury as it bore down on the coast. Forecasters said the storm would likely gain a little extra punch before slamming ashore.

Hermine’s landfall was expected early this morning in the Big Bend area – the mostly rural and lightly populated corner where the Florida peninsula meets the Panhandle – then drop back down to a tropical storm and push into Georgia, the Carolinas and up the East Coast with the potential for drenching rain and deadly flooding.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott ordered many state government offices to close at noon, including those in Tallahassee, home to tens of thousands of state employees. The city has not had a direct hit from a hurricane in 30 years.

He also urged people during the day to move to inland shelters if necessary.

“This is a life-threatening situation,” Scott said. “It’s going to be a lot of risk. Right now, I want everybody to be safe.”

Scott added that 6,000 National Guardsmen in Florida are ready to mobilize after the storm passes. The governors of Georgia and North Carolina declared states of emergency.

Projected rainfall ranged up to 10 inches in parts of northern Florida and southern Georgia, with 4 to 10 inches possible along the coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas by Sunday. Lesser amounts were forecast farther up the Atlantic Coast, because the storm was expected to veer out to sea.

The last hurricane to strike Florida was Wilma, a powerful Category 3 storm that arrived Oct. 24, 2005. It swept across the Everglades and struck heavily populated south Florida, causing five deaths in the state and an estimated $23 billion in damage.

Flooding was expected across a wide swath of the Big Bend, which has a marshy coastline and is made up of mostly rural communities and small towns, where fishing, hunting and camping are mainstays of life.

On Thursday, residents were out in force preparing for the storm, and stores began running low on bottled water and flashlights. City crews struggled to keep up with demand for sand for filling sandbags.

Courtney Chason, a longtime resident of Carrabelle in the Big Bend coastal area, warily watched with his girlfriend Thursday evening as surging waves began battering some docks and boathouses, the angry surf slowly tearing at them. Water also crashed into yards closest to the shore.

“I’ve never seen it this high, it’s pretty damn crazy,” Chason said. “I hope it doesn’t get any higher; we need lots of prayers.”

On Cedar Key, a small island along the Big Bend, about a dozen people went storefront to storefront, putting up shutters and nailing pieces of plywood to protect businesses from the wind.

One of them, Joe Allen, spray-painted on plywood in large black letters: “Bring it on, Hermine.”

Despite the bravado, he said, “I’m worried. You can never fully protect yourself from nature.”

Chris Greaves and family members stopped in Tallahassee to pick up sandbags for his garage and the church they attend. Greaves said he lived in South Florida when Hurricane Andrew devastated the area in 1992.</s>CEDAR KEY, Fla. — People on Florida's Gulf coast stocked up on supplies Thursday and some set out sandbags as they braced for Tropical Storm Hermine, which forecasters said could strike land as a hurricane.

A hurricane warning was in effect for Florida's Big Bend from the Suwannee River to Mexico Beach. And on the East Coast, a tropical storm warning was issued for an area extending from Marineland, Fla., northward to the South Santee River in South Carolina.

Georgia's governor declared a state of emergency for 56 counties through Saturday, in anticipation of high water and strong winds.

Hermine's maximum sustained winds Thursday morning were near 65 mph. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Hermine was likely to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane when it lands in Florida on Thursday night or early Friday.

As of 10 a.m. Thursday, Hermine was centered about 220 miles west of Tampa, Fla., and was moving north-northeast near 14 mph.

Residents in some low-lying communities in Florida were being asked to evacuate Thursday as the storm approached. The Tallahassee Democrat reported that emergency management officials in Franklin County have issued a mandatory evacuation notice for people living on St. George Island, Dog Island, Alligator Point and Bald Point. Residents in other low-lying, flood-prone areas were also being asked to evacuate.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott ordered state government offices in 51 counties to close at noon Thursday. The order included the state capital of Tallahassee, home to tens of thousands of state workers. The city, roughly 35 miles from the coast, has not had a direct hit by hurricane in 30 years.</s>Are you affected by Tropical Storm Hermine? If it's safe for you to do so, WhatsApp us on +44 7435 939 154 to share your photos, experiences and video. Please tag #CNNiReport in your message.

(CNN) Hurricane Hermine made landfall early Friday in Florida with a furious mix of rain, whistling winds and surging waves -- then weakened into a tropical storm as it wobbled toward Georgia.

Hermine, which had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, was the first hurricane to come ashore in Florida since Wilma struck 11 years ago.

It made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in the Big Bend area, a part of the Gulf Coast where the state's peninsula meets the Panhandle.

In Tallahassee, more than 100,000 utility customers were without power as winds and rain lashed the city, according to the mayor's office.

A few hours after landfall, Hermine had weakened into a tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.

All hurricane watches and warnings were dropped, but tropical storm warnings remained for parts of the Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia and up through North Carolina.

By dawn Friday, the tropical storm was 20 miles west of Valdosta, Georgia, and moving north at 14 mph, according to the hurricane center.

"This motion is expected to continue today and Saturday," the center said. "On the forecast track, the center of Hermine should continue to move farther inland across southeastern Georgia today and into the Carolinas tonight and Saturday."

Its maximum sustained winds decreased to 70 mph, with additional weakening forecast as it moves farther inland.

After its short reign as a hurricane, it's expected to spawn a few tornadoes in northern Florida and southern Georgia. A tornado watch was in effect for dozens of Florida and Georgia counties until 8 a.m. ET Friday.

In Florida, life-threatening flooding remains a risk as rain has pounded the Gulf Coast since Wednesday. Forecasters say much more is in store.

Hermine could bring up to 10 inches of additional rainfall to some places, including Tallahassee -- with up to 15 inches possible in some areas, forecasters said.

Several Florida counties issued mandatory evacuation notices for Gulf Coast communities on the water or in low-lying areas.

Parts of Georgia also are expected to get up to 10 inches of rain over the weekend.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday urged residents to heed warnings about the storm. "We have a hurricane. You can rebuild a home. You can rebuild property. You cannot rebuild a life."

He told residents not to drive into standing water and to avoid downed power lines, saying crews were working hard to ensure limited disruptions.

"We have 6,000 members of the national guard ready to be mobilized," he said.

Hours before landfall, Hermine was lashing Apalachicola, St. Petersburg and other cities.

The surge of ocean water could be as high as 9 feet above normal levels, forecasters said, as authorities warned its effect was not limited to Florida.

The storm is expected to deluge coastal Mid-Atlantic states from Virginia to New Jersey, beginning early Saturday, the hurricane center said.

'Lock down the house and pray'

In Apalachicola, on the Panhandle coast, contractors Lake Smith and Joshua Wolfhagen boarded up windows in a two-story brick building about 60 feet from the waterfront.

"Storm (surge) is what got me worried right now," Smith said. "Mostly worried about washing out the roads and a few of the homes in low-lying areas."

Eddie Bass, who owns a home in Alligator Point, said he wasn't boarding it up despite worries about the storm surge.

"It's not much you can do. You just got to bring everything you can. Lock down the house and pray," he said.

In Panama City, a popular Labor Day destination, organizers canceled one of the major tourist draws, the Gulf Coast Jam. Officials said the stage for the three-day country music event had to be taken down as the winds picked up.

Emergency management officials in Taylor County said mandatory evacuations were ordered for coastal communities. Nearby Wakulla County also had mandatory evacuations for low-lying areas.

The storm may leave behind large areas of standing water, but one expert said it shouldn't increase fears over the Zika virus.

"We associate severe rain events like tropical events and hurricanes with increases in nuisance mosquitoes, not disease-spreading (mosquitoes)," said Ben Beard of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The type of mosquito that could potentially carry Zika is affected by heavy rain and flooding, which also washes away larvae from small breeding sites such as bird baths and flower pots.

Nuisance mosquitoes will breed in water that remains standing after the storm passes.</s>Growing winds and driving rain from Hurricane Hermine lashed Florida’s northern Gulf Coast early on Friday as power outages left tens of thousands of households in the dark in what the state’s governor warned would be a potentially lethal storm.

Conditions deteriorated as Hurricane Hermine was making landfall, packing winds of 80 mph (130 km/h) with several areas in Florida already reporting 5 inches (12 cm) of rain and media reported about 270,000 households had been left without power.

“It is a mess…we have high water in numerous places,” Virgil Sandlin, the police chief in Cedar Key, Florida, told the Weather Channel. “I was here in 1985 for Hurricane Elena and I don’t recall anything this bad.”

Hurricane Hermine packed a dangerous storm surge that was expected to cause 9 feet (3 m) of flooding in some areas, as rising waters move inland from the coast, the National Hurricane Center warned in an advisory.

Hermine, expected to become the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Wilma in 2005, also posed a Labor Day weekend threat to states along the northern Atlantic Coast that are home to tens of millions of people.

“Hurricane Hermine is strengthening fast and it will impact the majority of our state,” Florida Governor Rick Scott said in a late-evening bulletin.

The National Weather Service issued several tornado warnings for communities throughout northern Florida on Friday as the National Hurricane Center extended a tropical storm watch to Sandy Hook, New Jersey.

Hermine became the fourth hurricane of the 2016 Atlantic storm season. By 11 p.m. EDT, maximum winds were listed at 80 mph (130 kph), with hurricane-force winds extending up to 45 miles (75 km) from the storm’s center.

Hermine could dump as much as 20 inches (51 cm) of rain in some parts of the state. Ocean storm surge could swell as high as 12 feet (3.6 meters).

After battering coastal Florida, Hermine is expected to weaken and move across the northern part of the state into Georgia, then southern U.S. coastal regions on the Atlantic.

The governors of Georgia and North Carolina on Thursday declared emergencies in affected regions. In South Carolina, the low-lying coastal city of Charleston was handing out sandbags.

Scott declared a state of emergency in 51 of Florida’s 67 counties, and at least 20 counties closed schools.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered in parts of five counties in northwestern Florida, with voluntary evacuations in at least three more counties. Twenty emergency shelters were opened across the state for those displaced by the storm.

“This is life-threatening,” Scott told reporters on Thursday afternoon. “You can rebuild a home. You can rebuild property. You cannot rebuild a life.”

In coastal Franklin County, people were being evacuated from barrier islands and low-lying shore areas.

“Those on higher ground are stocking up and hunkering down,” said Pamela Brownlee, the county’s emergency management director.

Towns, cities and counties were hastily preparing shelters for people and pets and placing utility repair crews on standby ahead of the storm.

The storm was expected to affect many areas inland of the Gulf Coast. In Leon County, home to the state capital of Tallahassee, more than 30,000 sandbags were distributed.

At Maximo Marina in St. Petersburg, Florida, dock master Joe Burgess watched anxiously as waters rose 6 inches (15 cm) over the dock at high tide on Thursday, before slowly receding.

“If we get hit with a real storm head on, all the provisions you can make aren’t going to matter out here,” he said, preparing to use a chainsaw to cut beams on covered slips if rising water took boats dangerously close to the roof.

On its current path, the storm also could dump as much as 10 inches (25 cm) of rain on coastal areas of Georgia, which was under a tropical storm watch, and the Carolinas. Forecasters warned of “life-threatening” floods and flash floods there.</s>CARRABELLE, Florida (AP) — Forecasters say Hurricane Hermine has made landfall over northwest Florida just east of St. Marks.



It's the first hurricane to directly strike the Sunshine State in more than a decade, roaring in from the northwest Gulf Coast with 80-mph winds and heavy rains.



The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Hermine made landfall early Friday around 1:30 a.m. EDT.



Projected storm surges of up to 12 feet menaced the coastline and expected rainfall up to 10 inches carried the danger of flooding through the storm's path, including the state capital, Tallahassee, which hadn't been hit by a hurricane since Kate in 1985.



Hermine is expected to drop back down to a tropical storm before pushing into Georgia, the Carolinas and up the East Coast with the potential for drenching rain and deadly flooding.
The National Hurricane Center declares a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning from the Anclote River, north of Tampa, to Destin, Florida, near the Georgia border. Hermine, now at 45 mph (75 km), is expected to reach hurricane strength when it makes landfall Thursday afternoon. Florida Governor Rick Scott, with life-threatening flooding forecast, declares a state of emergency.