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Hurricane Florence: Carolinas brace for 'storm of lifetime' – live updates Hurricane Florence: Carolinas brace for 'storm of lifetime' – live updates
(35 minutes later)
Currently Florence is pushing out maximum sustained winds of 100 mph and moving WNW at a sluggish 5 mph- which could inflate rainfall totals and increase the number of areas that experience catastrophic flooding.
The storm is 100 miles ESE of Wilmington, NC and 155 miles East of Myrtle Beach, SC.
Latest WPC guidance has expanded the coverage area for extreme rainfall/flooding as #Florence slows down. 15-30" rainfall amounts now likely to expand into parts of SC. A catastrophic event is unfolding. pic.twitter.com/PBUjOynpmY
I’m here in Myrtle Beach with my colleague Adam Gabbatt.
The winds here are not yet as strong as they are a few hundred miles north, outside of Wilmington, North Carolina. The latest forecast suggests that the strongest winds will arrive here early tomorrow morning, with rain and serious flooding forecast throughout the area.
I just got back from the coast where all the city’s fairground rides have been closed off. Although there were still a few revelers taking a stroll along the beach. Almost every petrol station here has shut down – bar one garage a few miles from our hotel where the line for gas and supplies snaked around the building.
Every gas station I’ve passed from Wilmington to Myrtle Beach is completely dry. #Florence pic.twitter.com/g6lcnHZDis
At this point forecasters are expecting at least 9ft of costal storm surge with some estimates as high as 13ft.
In case you’re having trouble visualizing what 9ft of storm surge looks like, The Weather Channel’s Erika Navarro has this virtual look of what some in Florence’s path could be up against.
Storm surge will be a huge factor for Hurricane #Florence Check out what it might look like with @TWCErikaNavarro: pic.twitter.com/TPqTZTmiAM
Storm surge is the swelling mass of water from the ocean that is pushed toward the shore by the force of the winds swirling around the the storm.
The steady battering power of Florence’s winds are well illustrated in video footage from atop a decommissioned lighthouse off the North Carolina coast. An NBC periscope feed from the Frying Pan Tower showed the winds steadily picking up over the course of four hours, eventually shearing an American flag.The steady battering power of Florence’s winds are well illustrated in video footage from atop a decommissioned lighthouse off the North Carolina coast. An NBC periscope feed from the Frying Pan Tower showed the winds steadily picking up over the course of four hours, eventually shearing an American flag.
Hurricane Florence is continuing to push towards a landfall around the North Carolina/South Carolina border, and is beginning to lash the central Atlantic seaboard with damaging winds and storm surge. As of Thursday afternoon the storm was generating sustained winds of 105mph, as storm surge water has begun to rush into homes and streets along beachside communities.Hurricane Florence is continuing to push towards a landfall around the North Carolina/South Carolina border, and is beginning to lash the central Atlantic seaboard with damaging winds and storm surge. As of Thursday afternoon the storm was generating sustained winds of 105mph, as storm surge water has begun to rush into homes and streets along beachside communities.
Breaking Weather: Storm Surge North Topsail Beach. Sand dunes gone storm surge 4’ into house knocking down walls first floor. #HurricaneFlorence #ncwx @NWSWilmingtonNC pic.twitter.com/HTADNMPSeYBreaking Weather: Storm Surge North Topsail Beach. Sand dunes gone storm surge 4’ into house knocking down walls first floor. #HurricaneFlorence #ncwx @NWSWilmingtonNC pic.twitter.com/HTADNMPSeY
Nearly 2 million coastal residents are now under mandatory evacuation orders, although it remains unclear how many have actually done so. Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) have warned that failure to do so could be potentially deadly. Another 8 million people live in areas covered by hurricane and tropical storm warnings.Nearly 2 million coastal residents are now under mandatory evacuation orders, although it remains unclear how many have actually done so. Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) have warned that failure to do so could be potentially deadly. Another 8 million people live in areas covered by hurricane and tropical storm warnings.
Storm surge is deadly. Anyone in an evacuation zone in the Carolinas and Virginia must leave NOW if they haven't yet. #Florence https://t.co/m3BKPoX5q4Storm surge is deadly. Anyone in an evacuation zone in the Carolinas and Virginia must leave NOW if they haven't yet. #Florence https://t.co/m3BKPoX5q4
Preceded first by the storm surge and the winds, heavy rains were picking up as of late Thursday afternoon, the beginning of an onslaught that for some areas may not relent for days. Forecasters are predicting as much as 40in of rain in some localized areas.Preceded first by the storm surge and the winds, heavy rains were picking up as of late Thursday afternoon, the beginning of an onslaught that for some areas may not relent for days. Forecasters are predicting as much as 40in of rain in some localized areas.
We’ll be tracking developments on this blog overnight and into tomorrow morning when the hurricane’s eyewall, the most damaging part, is expected to make landfall.We’ll be tracking developments on this blog overnight and into tomorrow morning when the hurricane’s eyewall, the most damaging part, is expected to make landfall.