North Carolina is now less than 24 hours away from the landfall of Hurricane Florence, which weakened to a Category 2 storm overnight but is still expected to have devastating effects on the central and southeastern portions of the state, particularly the coast.
Raleigh, N. C. — North Carolina is now less than 24 hours away from the landfall of Hurricane Florence, which weakened to a Category 2 storm overnight but is still expected to have devastating effects on both the central and southeastern portions of the state, particularly the coast.
10:18 a.m.: Video and photos from the entire coast, including the Outer Banks and Wilmington, are already showing strong wind from Florence. The storm is estimated to make landfall just after midnight.
10:15 am: WakeMed has partnered with a hospital near Florence’s projected landfall to bring NICU infants from Wilmington to Raleigh to keep them safe in the hurricane.
10 a.m.: Gov. Roy Cooper echoed FEMA’s message in a press conference about North Carolina’s preparations, stating he is worried that some people have said North Carolina is in the clear. Devastating storm surge is expected at the coast, and Elizabeth Gardner said the effects of Florence, which is several hundred miles wide, will be felt into Virginia.
„My message today — don’t relax. Don’t get complacent. This is the type of storm that can kill you. Today the threat becomes a reality. Get to a safe place and stay there if you haven’t already,“ said Gov. Cooper. „Make no mistake. Whether the eye of the storm makes landfall along our shores or farther south, we’re on the wrong side of this thing. This storm will bring destruction to North Carolina.”
Gov. Cooper also reminded listeners that Matthew didn’t make landfall, but it was catastrophic for the state.
9:30 a.m.: FEMA officials said the southeast portion of North Carolina could get 30 to 40 inches of rain. Officials can not stress enough the severity of the storm, especially in terms of storm surge.
9 a.m.: „Please do not let your guard down,“ said FEMA’s administrator during a Hurricane Florence briefing in Washington, D. C, referencing that even though the storm is now Category 2 the storm surge and rainfall estimated have not changed. „Your time [to evacuate] is running out.“
8:10 a.m.: The Storm Prediction Center has issued a tornado watch for the eastern coastal plain and central coast for the remainder of the day. Tornadoes associated with tropical systems tend to be brief, fairly weak and fast moving, but nonetheless can produce some enhanced localized damage. If any form today, they will tend to move toward the south or southwest.
7:55 a.m.: According to Elizabeth Gardner, we might see some scattered showers starting after lunch today and some storms this evening. Strong winds from the hurricane won’t be felt until late Thursday and overnight.
7:25 a.m.: The Raleigh-Durham International Airport has tweeted that there are approximately 120 cancelations (55 arrivals and 65 departures) out of 400 daily flights.
7:10 a.m.: In Dare County, winds are picking up just like they are in Wilmington. Despite mandatory evacuation orders for the Outer Banks, a group of seasoned locals told WRAL they would remain at their homes and that they’ve been through this before. Even though the path of the storm has shifted significantly south, toward Wilmington and Brunswick County, officials in the Outer Banks are concerned about storm surge and flooding.
6:50 a.m.: Curious to know if your home is at risk for flooding? The City of Raleigh has an interactive map to help you find out.
6:30 a.m.: The bridge that leads to Wrightsville Beach is closed, and officials say they evacuated 2,500 from the area on Wednesday.
6:15 a.m.: Prolonged heavy rainfall is expected to start in the Triangle late this afternoon or this evening and continue Friday and Saturday. The Triangle could see up to 8 inches, and areas south of the Triangle wil see more.
6 a.m.: Even though the storm has weakened to Category 2, there will still be damage to buildings from the wind and devastating storm surge at the coast. The Triangle should brace for flooding, falling trees and wind damage.
5:50 a.m.: Elizabeth Gardner said Florence will most likely make landfall around 2 a.m., which means the Triangle will see the worst of the storm Friday.
5:30 a.m.: Live video from Wilmington shows strong winds and rain less than 24 hours before the center of the storm is expected to make landfall. Wilmington residents were urged to evacuate earlier this week.
5:15 a.m.: Cumberland, Hoke, Johnston, Lee, Moore, Richmond, Scotland and Wilson are under a tropical storm warning. Wayne and Sampson counties are under a hurricane warning along with much of southeast North Carolina and the coast.
5 a.m.: The latest update from the National Hurricane Center shows little change in the storm. Florence has maximum winds of 110 mph and is still predicted to make landfall in Wilmington overnight.
4:45 a.m.: A flash flood watch will be in effect for Wake, Chatham, Cumberland, Duplin, Edgecombe, Franklin, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Lenoir, Moore, Nash, Sampson, Scotland,Wayne, and Wilson counties from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Saturday. At 5, we’ll get more information on the path and strength of Florence.
4:30 a.m.: Hurricane Florence is expected to make landfall south of Wilmington late Thursday or early Friday as a Category 2 storm.
2 a.m.: At 2 a.m., The National Hurricane Center said Florence was moving northwest at 17 mph with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. A storm is classified Category 3 if its winds are recorded at 111 mph or more.
11:10 p.m.: WRAL Chief Meteorologist Greg Fishel said that even though Florence has unexpectedly weakened into a Category 2 storm, the hurricane could still pose a significant risk.
„This amount of weakening was not anticipated,“ he said. „Does this mean we have much less to worry about? Not at all.“
Fishel said that the wind field associated with the storm is continuing to increase in size and could cause devastating storm surge. He compared Florence’s wind field to Hurricane Sandy, which was only a Category 1 storm when it made landfall but still caused devastating effects along the Jersey Shore in New Jersey in 2012.
„The overall wind speeds may not be all that impressive at landfall, but the storm surge could be enormous,“ he said.
The National Hurricane Center is still predicting a storm surge of 9 to 13 feel along the coast and in the Pamlico Sound and area rivers.
Fishel said the storm is currently expected to make landfall along the North Carolina coast overnight Thursday as a Category 2 storm, but there is a potential for the storm to regain strength before doing so.
The storm is continuing to follow the same track, heading into South Carolina after making landfall near Wilmington.
„The farther north and west you are, the less risk you have,“ WRAL meteorologist Mike Maze said.
11 p.m.: The latest update from the National Hurricane Center shows that Florence has weakened to a Category 2 storm with sustained winds of 110 mph.
The storm is 385 miles southeast of Raleigh and is moving northwest at 17 mph.
The latest storm track shows Florence tracking farther south, and Fishel said that will lessen the storm’s impacts in the Triangle.
„We have the potential for power outages but, at this point in the Triangle, I don’t see this as a big problem like Fran because it’s going farther south,“ he said.
