Hurricane Hermine (2016)

Hurricane Hermine was a weak hurricane that existed in late August and early September in the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. It was also the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Hurricane Wilma in 2005, ending an 11 year streak without a hurricane hitting the state.

The origins of Hermine can be traced back to a tropical wave that moved off the coast of Africa on August 16, before moving across the whole of the basin without further development. On August 23, convection in association with the system began to increase, and on August 28, after a recon flight was able to confirm the existence of a closed surface low, the system was declared to be a tropical depression. Situated initially in an area of increased shear due to the nearby Tropical Depression Eight, Hermine was slow to organise, and became a tropical storm on August 31 as it began to make its approach towards the Florida coast, becoming a hurricane late on September 1.

Hermine went on to reach a peak intensity of 85 mph several hours later, before making landfall in Florida as an 80 mph hurricane near St Marks, Florida, quickly weakening as it moved inland. Hermine emerged into the Atlantic several hours later as a moderate tropical storm, and began an extratropical transition, which was complete by 0600 UTC on September 3. Hermine hugged the coast for several days, before heading out into the Atlanticon September 6, when it was absorbed by another developing extratropical cyclone. Whilst a tropical cyclone, Hermine killed 5 people, and caused $550 million in damages.