STORM WORKING OT
Hermine to punish tri-state are for several days as it loops about
She’s the Labor Day visitor from hell — and she’s in no hurry to leave.
Tropical Storm Hermine will linger off the New York and New Jersey shores for the next few days, whipping her 70-mph winds across the region and battering beaches with 15- to 20-foot waves.
Hermine roared up the East Coast Saturday, and was expected to reach the southern part of the Jersey Shore early Sunday.
And there she’ll sit until the middle of the week.
“I can’t remember a storm in recent times that panned out this way,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Dave Samuel said.
Unusual weather patterns across North America could cause “looping,” Samuel explained. That means Hermine will waver back and forth off shore without moving onward.
She’ll bring heavy rain and even heavier surf on Monday, and significant storm surge in coastal areas of Westchester, the north shore of Long Island and southern Connecticut.
For New York City, the surge could be significant. “That’s the number one con- cern we have with this system,” Samuel said.
Another danger: Hermine might strengthen back into a hurricane before she arrives, fueled by water warmed by the unusually hot summer. And it might stay a hurricane for as long as it sits offshore.
Forget about a sand-and-shore holiday — all New York’s beaches are closed on Sunday.
“We’re going to be above our normal tide levels for days,” Samuel said, predicting “humongous waves ... the number one issue is the water rise.”
Homeowners from Staten Island to the Rockaways prepared for the storm on Saturday — even though many didn’t believe it would hit as hard as Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
“It ain’t going to be like Sandy,” said Chris Russo, 46, who lives near the beach, as he walked along the Coney Island. “We’re going to see a sea surge, but that’s about it.”
Two people were already killed by the storm — a truck drivdriver in the Outer Banks of North Carolina whose 18wheeler was tipped by high winds and a homeless man in Florida struck by a falling tree.
With temperatures in the 70s and a chilly wind blowing, fewer people ventured to the sand than usual for a Labor Day Saturday.
Some were looking for some pre-storm fun.
“Surfers wait for the storms,” said Alan Davidson, 60, an artist from Midwood, who was carrying a body board near Brighton Beach. “We wait all summer for hurricane season to get some good waves.”
Amtrak has cancelled and altered service. Flights may also be cancelled or delayed, and major airlines are waiving rebooking fees at the three area airports.
The Port Authority said there were no plans yet to close Newark, JFK or LaGuardia airports.
Hermine should head out to sea by Wednesday, forecasters say.
After she’s gone, summer weather will return — with temperatures in the 90s on Thursday and Friday.