Tropical storm Hermine is once again gaining strength, the U.S. National Weather Service said Sunday, posing a "danger of life-threatening inundation" from New Jersey to Connecticut."
"The event is far from over," said National Hurricane Center meteorologist Dennis Feltgen.
As of midday Sunday, Hermine was about 520 kilometers east-southeast of Ocean City, Maryland in the mid-Atlantic region - far out to sea, but close enough to be pummeling coastal areas with heavy rain, riptides and storm surges of up to 1.5 meters.
The storm, now heading north by northeast, is expected to take a northern or northwestern turn. Residents in states as far north as Connecticut are expected to feel its damaging impact.
Hermine was the first hurricane to strike Florida in more than a decade, and is responsible for two deaths — one in Florida and one in North Carolina.
In New Jersey, tropical storm force winds could whip up on Monday's Labor Day holiday. Governor Chris Christie warned that minor to moderate flooding is still likely in coastal areas, and said the storm will cause major problems, even as it tracks eastward into the Atlantic.
"Don't be lulled by the nice weather,'' Christie said, referring to the bright sunny skies along the Jersey Shore on Sunday afternoon. "Don't think that nothing is going to happen, because something is going to happen. ... The eastern track means a less severe impact, but you're still going to see beach erosion, storm surges and dangerous rip currents. There will be impact from this storm.''
Forecasters say Hermine could regain hurricane force later Sunday as it travels up the coast before weakening again to a tropical storm by Tuesday.
