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| Tropical Storm Hermine was centered about 20 miles west of Valdosta, Georgia, as of 5 a.m. Friday Morning. (weather.com) |
The storm became a Category 1 hurricane shortly before 3 p.m. EDT Thursday and made landfall around 1:30 a.m. EDT Friday east of St. Marks, Florida, along the Florida Panhandle. While losing its water source over land, Hermine weakened back to a tropical storm at 5 a.m. EDT Friday morning.
The last hurricane to make landfall in Florida prior to Hermine was Wilma in 2005.
Two hours after making landfall, as it moved inland, Hermine was downgraded to a tropical storm, the National Weather Service said.
It passed through Florida and is now making its way through Georgia before heading for the Carolinas.
Police in Taylor County, Florida, that has a population of more than 20,000, said the storm had inflicted "severe damage".
In the state capital Tallahassee, where people were urged to move to higher ground to avoid flash floods, at least 70,000 homes were without power at one point, affecting 60% of people in the region.
"Multiple" roads were blocked by debris and fallen trees, traffic officials in the city said.
South of Tallahassee, the town of Cedar Key saw a 6.6ft (two-metre) storm surge, raising high tide to almost 10ft. Images from the town posted on social media showed significant flooding.
Credit: weather.com