Here were are, nearly three months into the 2018 hurricane season and finding North Carolina is ground zero for the first major Atlantic hurricane of the year. The storm is ever-changing, but here’s what we know so far…

Hurriane Florence is a monster of a storm, and she's headed right for the North Carolina coast.
National Hurricane Center
Mandatory evacuations have been issued for more than 1 million people, and more are perhaps forthcoming as the storm is predicted to nearly stall once it makes landfall as early as 2:00 a.m. Friday morning. Presently, the storm is expected to be at least a Category 4 with sustained winds of more than 130 mph. Tropical force winds extend for 100 miles from the center.
If the colossal storm slows down to three or four miles per hour (as anticipated), then the resulting rainfall amounts will be devastating to areas not only along the coast, but inland in North Carolina as well. The National Weather Service and the Weather Channel are predicting rainfall amounts in North Carolina as high as 24 inches in some parts of the state.
NWS weather.gov
(Above photo: Edgecombe County, flooding after Hurricane Floyd in September, 1999.)

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Weather patterns and the lack of expected shearing of the storm predict the storm will likely strengthen over the next 48 hours. Whether the storm will reach a Category 5 on the Stafford-Simpson Scale with sustained winds of at least 156 mph remains to be seen. The North Caroliana Department of Public Service website has the most accurate and up-to-date information on road conditions, evacuation routes, ferry schedules, mandatory evacuations and more.
Flickr/Beth
(Above photo: destruction in the Outer Banks from Hurricane Isabel in 2003.)
In areas where a mandatory evacuation is ordered, emergency services may not be available for residents or visitors that elect to stay behind. Most North Carolina residents along the coast know to heed the warnings.
Flickr/NCDOTcommunications
(Above photo: Cedar Island flooding from Hurricane Irene in 2009.)
At present, storm surge watches have been issued from Virginia all the way down the coast to Charleston, South Carolina. According to the Hurricane Center, a life-threatening storm surge will accompany Florence in the storm surge watch area. Additionally, life-threatening flooding is likely from prolonged rainfall once the storm slows down to a near stall. The flooding could extend inland for hundreds of miles. And finally, damaging hurricane force winds are expected along portions of the North Carolina and South Carolina coastlines.
Flickr/County of Dare
(Above photo: storm surge destruction from Hurricane Joaquin in 2015 in Kitty Hawk.)

What are you doing to prepare for Florence? Stay up-to-date with Hurricane Florence information by visiting this link on the official website of the National Hurricane Center.

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