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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Humberto is likely to continue intensifying during the next day or so while it moves over the warm waters of the Gulf stream, the National Hurricane Center reported in its 5 p.m advisory.
The category 1 storm is moving away from Jacksonville's coast at 7 mph with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph. The first coast will see a high risk of rip current and high surf through Tuesday as Humberto moves off the Atlantic coastline.
Your 5 AM (9/16) Tropical Update - Hurricane #Humberto will continue to move NE away from the area.
— NWS Jacksonville (@NWSJacksonville) September 16, 2019
Impacts along the coast/offshore:
🏖 High risk of rip currents + high surf
🌊 Small craft advisory
🌅 Water levels along St. Johns River ~1-1.5 ft above norm tide
🌬 Breezy winds pic.twitter.com/TjHbXGj4RW
Humberto is looking like a prime teenager ready to become an adult. It is getting stronger feeding off warm water and reduced shear and it shows in its satellite appearance looking more like a hurricane.
Further strengthening is expected during the next few days. Humberto is forecast to reach major hurricane strength early Wednesday.
A shift east away from Florida Monday will drag in dry air. It is expected to strengthen to a Category 2 by Tuesday and keep large waves along the Northeast Florida coast all week.
Forecasters expect the storm to stay offshore of Florida's eastern coast, so a tropical storm watch is no longer in effect for the state.