Tropical Storm — Inland Chatham, Georgia

2016-09-02 · Inland Chatham, Georgia

Event narrative

Chatham County Emergency Management Agency reported trees down throughout the county due to Tropical Storm Hermine. At Hunter Army Airfield, trees were blown down across the base with numerous power outages. Heavy rain also caused some roofs to leak. The ASOS site at KSAV measured a peak wind gust of 55 miles per hour and the AWOS site at KSVN measured a peak wind gust of 49 miles per hour.

Wider weather episode

Hermine developed as a Tropical Depression near the north coast of Cuba on August 28th. The depression then tracked westward into the central Gulf of Mexico and strengthened into a Tropical Storm. Hermine then tracked generally northeastward and strengthened into a Hurricane. According to the National Hurricane Center, Hermine made landfall as a Category 1 Hurricane at 1:30 am EDT on September 2nd along the Florida Big Bend coast just east of St. Marks, Florida, near the Wakulla-Jefferson County line. Hermine continued on a northeastward track across the Florida panhandle and into southeast Georgia and southeast South Carolina, gradually weakening back to a Tropical Storm. Across southeast Georgia and southeast South Carolina, the main impacts from Hermine included heavy rain and wind damage in the form of scattered to numerous trees being blown down. Storm total rainfall amounts generally ranged from 2 to 8 inches across the region, including a daily record rainfall of 2.32 inches at the Charleston International Airport. The wind damage produced numerous power outages and even some damage to homes and other structures throughout the area. Hermine spawned 2 tornadoes, and produced a 1.5 to 2.5 foot storm surge along the coast, though no flooding was reported.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 660404. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.