As Tropical Depression Hermine approaches Florida, Governor Rick Scott took proactive measures and declared an early state of emergency to help 51 counties prepare for the onslaught of the storm, according to reports. Several schools have declared closings today and tomorrow following the announcement.
Hermine will move towards the state with torrential rains, strong winds and flood risks going into the weekend. The eye of the storm will fall 295 miles west south west of Tampa, Florida.
"We expect the storm to make a curve to the northeast and should make landfall north of Tampa and perhaps close to Apalachicola, in the Big Bend of Florida during Thursday evening," stressed AccuWeather hurricane expert Dan Kottlowski.
The storm is expected to dump four to eight inches of rain, increasing to twelve inches in some specific locales. These rainfall levels are deep enough to cause flooding in urban and low lying areas.
Meteorologists told the general public to expect power outages, flooded roads, and airline disruptions. Hermine is expected to coast along the Carolina shoreline going into Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.
