Subscribe to Breaking News emails

You have successfully subscribed to the Breaking News email.

Subscribe today to be the first to to know about breaking news and special reports.

Image: Tropical Storm Hermine Bears Down On Florida's Gulf Coast

Photo

Florida Braces for 'Life-Threatening' Hurricane Hermine

Florida is preparing for the first hurricane to strike the state in over a decade.

 / Updated 7 PHOTOS
Image: Tropical Storm Hermine Bears Down On Florida's Gulf Coast

Doug LeFever inspects the seawall near his home at the Sandpiper Resort on Sept. 1 in Holmes Beach, Florida.

Hermine strengthened to a hurricane Thursday afternoon, with winds near 75 mph, as Florida braced to be thrashed by what the governor is calling a "life-threatening" tropical storm.

— Brian Blanco / Getty Images
  • Share
Image: Tropical Storm Hermine Bears Down On Florida's Gulf Coast

A member of Manatee County Marine Rescue updates beach visitors after surveying the rip currents and weather conditions at Manatee Beach Park on Sept. 1 in Holmes Beach.

The last hurricane to make landfall in Florida was Wilma in 2005.

— Brian Blanco / Getty Images
  • Share
Image: Tropical Storm Hermine Bears Down On Florida's Gulf Coast

Residents of the Sandpiper Resort survey the rising water coming from the Gulf of Mexico into their neighborhood on Sept. 1 in Holmes Beach.

Fifty-one counties in Florida were placed under a state of emergency ahead of Hermine's landfall. 

 

— Brian Blanco / Getty Images
  • Share
Image:

Daniel Fink, left, and Pete Stefani fill sandbags at the Cedar Cove Hotel as they prepare for Hermine on Sept. 1 in Cedar Key, Florida.

— John Raoux / AP
  • Share
Image:

From left, Tim and Joe Allen board up the front of an outdoor bar as they prepare for Hermine on Sept. 1 in Cedar Key, Florida.

— John Raoux / AP
  • Share
Image:

A surfer gets into the tube while surfing the swell from Hermine at St. Andrews State Park in Panama City Beach, Florida on Sept. 1.

— Andrew Wardlow / AP
  • Share
Image: ***BESTPIX*** Florida Gulf Coast Prepares For Tropical Storm Hermine

A dog wades through the shallow water at Shell Point Beach on Aug. 31 near Crawfordville, Florida.

— Mark Wallheiser / Getty Images
  • Share
1/7