Hurricane Florence Nears the East Coast

Hurricane Florence, still a dangerous Category 3 storm with 125 mph sustained winds, continues to move closer to the coast of the Southeastern U.S.

 

This geocolor image from NOAA's GOES East satellite shows Florence's well-defined eye and outermost cloud bands beginning to approach the Outer Banks at 10:45 a.m. EDT on September 12, 2018. The center of the storm is expected to make landfall along the coast of the Carolinas early Friday morning.

 

At 2 p.m. September 12, Florence was located about 435 miles southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina and moving northwest at around 16 mph. Hurricane-force winds extend up to 70 miles from the center of the storm, and will begin reaching the coast of the Carolinas by Thursday morning. Hurricane warnings are in effect across the entire North Carolina coast and parts of northern South Carolina, while flash flood watches extend inland away from the coast in both states.

 

The National Hurricane Center warns that Florence may slow down considerably late Thursday into Friday as it makes landfall, elevating the risk of "life-threatening storm surge" along the coast and high potential for catastrophic flooding as the storm dumps "heavy and excessive rainfall" across the Carolinas.

 

Credit: NOAA