Governor Markell Issues Limited State Of Emergency That Had Little Use

“Hurricane Hermine is a Category 1 hurricane and only a couple of hours away from landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast. Bands of heavy rain and even a few radar indicated tornadoes have already moved inland, and hurricane-force winds are now coming ashore. Life-threatening storm surge flooding will continue to increase through the night.”

These were the words from the Weather Chanel just three days ago on Friday September 2nd, and by Saturday morning at 1:00 A.M. Hermine was 30 miles southeast of Tallahassee, Fla. with winds of 90 MPH and moving Northwest at 6 MPH.

Tropical Storm Warning for Sussex County in DE. Tune in NOAA Weather Radio for more

— DelawareEMA (@DelawareEMA) September 5, 2016

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As the hours went on, Hermine was predicted to become a non-tropical low storm by the end of the weekend near or off the Mid-Atlantic or Northeast seaboard. The threat of strong winds, coastal flooding, and other impacts to our area was imminent.

Heaviest rain from #Hermine will be offshore but rip currents/tidal flooding threats remain, LIVE coverage continues pic.twitter.com/zxQppmVtnn

— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) <ahref=”https://twitter.com/weatherchannel/status/772555116222091264″>September 4, 2016

For Florida, Hermine will be the state’s first hurricane landfall since Hurricane Wilma. In 2005, after the inner eye dissipated due to an eyewall replacement cycle, Hurricane Wilma weakened to a category 4 status and on October 21, it made landfall on Cozumel and on the Mexican mainland with winds of about 150 mph (240 km/h).

As for Hurricane Hermine, winds in the 1 a.m. hour at Tallahassee were gusting to 64 mph and to 47 mph in Perry, Florida.

Hurricane warnings and watches were placed all along the East coast as Hermine built its path up the coast threatening thousands of people, homes, businesses, and coastal cities.

So what impact did this have in the Northeast from Maryland to New York? Very little, although the threat of high winds and coastal flooding seemed more of a concern as Hermine got closer. A tropical storm warning was in effect for parts of New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland, as early as Saturday morning.

Rip currents, beach erosion & tidal flooding are big threats as post-tropical cyclone #Hermine remains offshore. pic.twitter.com/zT3H9zv5l9

— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) September 4, 2016

All I could think of was the thousands of people vacationing at hundreds of Beaches along the East coast from Florida to Connecticut, and for all the weekends there are during the hurricane season to threaten coastal towns, it just had to be Labor day weekend. As we all know, Labor Day weekend is the last chance for many people to enjoy the beaches.

Right now, the Ocean is much warmer than any other time of the summer and September usually has a nice comfortable atmosphere compared to many other summer months. Then suddenly, the hopes of enjoying the last weekend of the season are over before it even starts.

People from all along the East Coast were forced to change plans and get inland from coastal areas. Some tourists and vacationers simply returned home, but here in Delaware, the wait was somewhat exciting for some folks who were waiting out the storm to experience it first hand.

In spite of all the warnings, people were seen waiting to document the storms impact right here in Rehoboth Beach, and for Labor Day, Rehoboth Beach seemed to be back to its normal off-season crowd.

Even though Rehoboth Beach Patrol closed the beach due to heavy surf and wind conditions, people were seen on the beach anyway braving the storm. Some families were seen with their kids on the beach, some in knee high waters as the surf crashed to shore. Couples standing arm around arm, enjoying the sounds of the surf. Other’s took selfies, and documented the surf’s impact on video, and the real smart ones, the boardwalk was as far as they were going, as if fighting the gusts wasn’t challenging enough.

So what impact did post-Hermine leave at the Delaware-Maryland shores? Very little to nothing at all, with some moderate flooding’s in low key areas. In ocean city, Maryland, moderate flooding occurred near the inlet area. It’s not clear how many exactly, but The Coast Guard and Ocean City Fire Department was continuing to make water rescues into the night.

So here we are the day after the storm, and things seem to be slowly going back to normal. Today gave us clear skies with a high around 75, as Hermine travels further off-shore.

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