Connecticut likely to avoid major damage as Hermine moves east
A tropical storm will probably bring rain and high winds to coastal Connecticut Monday, but heavy flooding and damage seemed unlikely as the storm pushes slightly away from the coast over Labor Day weekend.
“It’s basically going to be stalling,” said Gary Lessor, meteorologist and assistant director with The Weather Center at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.
The storm, Hermine, made landfall in Florida as a hurricane Friday before moving east over the Atlantic Ocean, where it would likely stay, Lessor said.
“The bulk of the storm has tracked further east,” he said. “There could be some minor flooding, but nothing unusual for a coastal storm.”
On Sunday afternoon, Hermine was generating winds of up to 70 mph about 300 miles southeast of the eastern tip of Long Island, Lessor said.
The storm was still putting people across the region in preparation mode as high surf and bad weather offshore made sea-based activity a tricky proposition.
Longtime commercial fisherman Alan Chaplaski was on his boat, the Neptune, at the Stonington Town Dock Sunday. Chaplaski hadn’t gone out in the boat Sunday, and said he would probably lose three more fishing days because of 20- to 35-foot seas on the open ocean.
In weather like that, he said, there’s no use even looking for fish.
“They just won’t cooperate,” he said.
Chaplaski said he would use the days to finish some maintenance work on the Neptune, or just clean it. Behind him, a welder sent up sparks as he made a repair on the boat’s deck.
“There’s always things to do on an old boat,” Chaplaski said.
Gov. Dannel Malloy said Saturday that he would partially activate the state Emergency Operations Center in Hartford beginning at 6 p.m. on Sunday, and said that all state park campgrounds would close at noon Sunday because of the storm.
At Misquamicut State Beach in Westerly, heavy surf meant beach staff there were also asking beachgoers not to go in further than waist deep.
“They’re all trying to get prepared, just in case … the storm does get more intense,” said Mary Ann Harris, a clerical aide at nearby Burlingame State Park.
Along the stretch of sand in busy Misquamicut late Sunday morning, high tide combined with crashing waves growing in size significantly reduced the amount of dry sand where beachgoers could put down their blankets and chairs. Many used their phones to take photos and video of the surf. Few ventured into the water to dive under the waves.
Misquamicut waves are projected to peak at 7 feet about 9 a.m. Monday, according to the surf forecasting website magicseaweed.com.
Westerly was under a tropical storm watch Sunday afternoon, as was southern New London County.
At Ocean Beach in New London, Ocean Beach park manager Dave Sugrue said people were being asked to stay in shallow water because of the possibility of riptides.
“We don’t want to put anyone in danger,” he said. “We’re pretty conservative that way.”
The swimming restrictions didn’t stop hundreds of people from filling the sand with towels and umbrellas Sunday afternoon, but the park closed down its swimming pool a day early because of the storm, covering it up to prevent debris from blowing into the water.
Beach staff were pulling garbage cans off the beach and closing down the beach concession stand. The precautions might turn out to be unnecessary, but Sugrue said he’d rather err on the side of safety.
“If it hits just right, it can be a disaster,” he said. “I could never not look at this as a potential disaster.”
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