ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Hurricane Florence is located 355 miles southwest of Bermuda and 670 miles east-southeast of Cape Fear, NC. On the latest track, it is projected to make landfall somewhere along the Carolina coastline Friday.

Florence is a major Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph. Florence will remain a major hurricane as it nears the Carolina coast.

Florence is moving to the west-northwest at 17 mph. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the center; tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 175 miles. The minimum central pressure is 946 mb.

The positive news with this is that the strongest winds and heaviest rains will stay near the coast instead of roaring inland like hurricanes of the past.  he other positive is that the storm will weaken since it will approach and interact with land.

The negative side of this is that the coastal areas will get pounded for a lot longer than normal with intense wind, rain, and storm surge.  There will be some areas along the coast that see the worst storm surge they’ve seen since Hazel in 1954.

The persistence is what will make it worse than most hurricanes of the past. The reason Florence will stall at the coast is because of two high pressures blocking its path… one to its east, and one to its north.

The most likely scenario is that Florence slowly drifts southwest near South Carolina after the initial approach to North Carolina. This is also bad news because that means it will do damage to multiple cities/beaches, instead of just one area like most hurricanes do.  This also means that many coastal areas in both NC an SC will have storm surge flooding and inland rainfall flooding.

Expect this to be a big issue since the storm will move very slowly.

The following watches and warnings have been posted:

A storm surge warning is in effect for:

  • South Santee River South Carolina to Duck North Carolina
  • Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, including the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers

A storm surge watch is in effect for:

  • Edisto Beach South Carolina to South Santee River South Carolina
  • North of Duck North Carolina to the North Carolina/Virginia Border

A hurricane warning is in effect for:

  • South Santee River South Carolina to Duck North Carolina
  • Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds

A hurricane watch is in effect for:

  • Edisto Beach South Carolina to South Santee River South Carolina
  • North of Duck North Carolina to the North Carolina/Virginia Border

A tropical storm watch is in effect for…

  • North of the North Carolina/Virginia Border to Cape Charles Light Virginia
  • Chesapeake Bay South of New Point Comfort

Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.

Make sure to watch our Tropics updates each hour at :49.