Hermine and other September Storms

Hurricane Hermine Making Landfall (9-2-16)  Source: NOAA

Hermine ended a record streak of more than 1,000 days without a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico.  Despite being a minimal Category 1 storm, Hermine was the first hurricane to make landfall in the state of Florida since 2005.  Hermine’s legacy, however, will depend on how significant coastal flooding and beach erosion will be up and down the East Coast. 

Hermine will linger off the East Coast for the next several days, resulting in the potential for a sustained period of gusty winds, storm surge and wind-driven rain over several hundred miles.  That’s unlike the majority of systems, such as a tropical system or a Nor’Easter, that affect a given area for only several hours.  Hermine is a different type of system altogether since the atmospheric steering currents are not allowing it to simply head out to sea.  Instead, Hermine will linger creating potentially catastrophic coastal flooding and beach erosion.

Earlier today, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) designated “Hermine” as post-tropical cyclone since it no longer has the same characteristics of a hurricane or tropical storm.  But the NHC will continue to issue advisories on the system.  That’s in contrast to Sandy in 2012 when tropical storm and hurricane advisories were discontinued after it was declared a post-tropical (or non-tropical) system.

Fortunately for Mid-Atlantic residents, the destructive effects of Hermine have been largely confined to areas of the DelMarVa Peninsula.  That’s unlike some other systems of the last 10 years.  On August 27, 2011 Irene made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  It tracked northward and brought the DC Metro Region – and much of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast – significant rainfall, damaging winds and coastal flooding.  Irene, unlike Hermine, was a relatively fast moving system and didn’t linger.

Other tropical systems that have impacted the United States in early September include Tropical Storm Hanna which made landfall in South Carolina on September 6, 2008.  It created dangerous surf and brought appreciable rainfall to much of the eastern United States.  Also, Ernesto made landfall in North Carolina as a strong tropical storm on September 1, 2006.  It tracked northward and brought flooding rains and gusty winds to much of the Mid-Atlantic Region, including Washington, D.C.  September is the busiest month of the hurricane season so having systems like “Hermine” and others – though inconvenient for Labor Day beach plans – is not unusual.