Hurricane Florence became a category 4 storm on Monday, sustaining winds of close to 130mph (195km/h) on its path toward the US east coast where it is forecast to make landfall on Thursday.
Hurricane severity The grey cone shows the likely path of the centre of the hurricane. It does not indicate the size of the storm All times in Eastern Daylight Time | Source: US National Hurricane Center | Last updated: 12 September, 12:54am
The National Hurricane Center is warning that a life-threatening storm surge along the coast of South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia is likely. Forecasters are also warning of heavy rainfall which could cause life-threatening flooding further inland.
Based on historical forecasts, the NHC track forecast cone, or “cone of uncertainty”, is the probable path of the centre of a tropical cyclone. The cone increases in size over time to indicate the greater areas of uncertainty about its path.
The majority of flooding from the storm surge is caused by a phenomenon known as the Coriolis effect. The Earth’s rotation causes storms in the northern hemisphere to rotate anticlockwise, meaning a hurricane’s winds are deflected toward the right of the storm’s centre. Storms in the southern hemisphere behave the opposite way.
Hurricane Florence, on track to become the first Category 4 storm to make a direct hit on North Carolina in six decades, is howling closer to shore on Tuesday, threatening to unleash deadly pounding surf, days of torrential rain and severe flooding.
Fierce winds and massive waves are expected to lash the coasts of North and South Carolina and Virginia even before Florence makes landfall, and its rains will take a heavy toll for miles inland, the National Hurricane Center in Miami warned.
More than 1 million residents have been ordered to evacuate from coastal areas of the three states, closing university campuses, schools and factories.
Packing maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour (225 km per hour) the storm is expected to grow stronger and larger over the next few days, the NHC said.
“This storm is a monster,” North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said. “Even if you've ridden out storms before, this one is different. Don't bet your life on riding out a monster.”
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The National Hurricane Centre has released an estimate saying that the earliest tropical storm force winds from Hurricane Florence may hit the Carolina coast would be Wednesday evening, but that it is more likely those conditions will arrive Thursday morning. The National Hurricane Centre has released the following advisories for Hurricanes Isaac and Florence: Dare County and Hatteras Island in North Carolina are already being given mandatory evacuation orders in anticipation of Hurricane Florence's landfall later this week. Computer predictions show the storm strengthening into a category 4 storm — and nearly into a category 5 hurricane — before hitting the Carolina coast somewhere between northern South Carolina and the North Carolina outer banks. Here's a map of the evacuation zones declared in Dare County and Hatteras Island in North Carolina: ↵ Hurricane Florence has been reclassified as a category 4 hurricane, a quick intensification after being reclassified Monday morning. The storm is expected to bring tropical storm conditions to the Carolina coast as early as Wednesday evening. It is still to early to predict what exactly might happen when Hurricane Florence hits into the US East Coast, but there are recent examples that might help understand what is in store for the Carolinas. Computer simulations show that as much as two feet of water may be dropped on the areas from the Carolinas to Virginia — and that there is a chance that the storm could stall as it hits the coast like Hurricane Harvey did over Texas just last year. If those conditions present themselves, that could have disastrous consequences. Those conditions have been seen recently, too, when Hurricane Matthew hit into the eastern seaboard in 2016 and flooded major portions of the Carolinas with deadly waters. Some meteorologists are seeing signs that Hurricane Florence will be pushed into category 5 territory, based upon what they are seeing from overhead imaging. Most predictions say the storm will crash into the US East Coast as a category 4 — though it may be bordering category 5. What happens then is uncertain, but heavy rains and fierce winds will likely bring flooding to areas in the Carolinas and up into Virginia. Astronaut Ricky Arnold has posted some breathtaking photos of Hurricane Florence as it swirls above the Atlantic. Mr Arnold has been stationed on the International Space Station since March. President Donald Trump has cancelled plans to hold a rally in Mississippi on Friday because of Hurricane Florence. "We received confirmation from the White House this morning that the Trump rally has been canceled due to the projected hurricane threat to the East Coast," Jennifer Dunagin, communications director for the Mississippi Republican Party, told The Clarion Ledger. The Trump campaign also released a statement, indicating that avoiding a deadly hurricane was the "safest" thing to do given the circumstances. Puerto Rico could be in for some storm impacts from Hurricane Isaac, which is expected to lose strength as it approaches the Caribbean but may still bring some heavy wind or rain into the area. The US territory was hit hard by last year's hurricane season, leading to thousands of deaths from storm related incidents or illnesses. Much of the island lost power, and remained without power for months. At least two airlines have issued change flight fee waivers in anticipation of Hurricane Florence's landfall. American Airlines has announced the change flight fee waiver for 23 southeastern US cities, including Charleston, South Carolina; Charlotte, North Carolina; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Norfolk, Virginia; Raleigh/Dhurham, North Carolina; Richmond; Virginia and Savannah, Georgia. More details on that waiver can be found here Southwest Airlines has similarly warned of delays or cancellations, and is offering waivers to travelers going through these cities in South Carolina: Charleston, Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, Richmond, Norfolk/Virginia Beach and Greenville-Spartanburg. Here is more information for Southwest Airlines customers. Other airlines have not yet commented on whether they will provide fee waivers, although Delta has indicated it is monitoring the situation. The governor of South Carolina, Henry McMaster, has ordered the evacuation of the entire, 187-mile coastline of his state start at noon on Thursday, state politicians who had spoken to the governor told the Charleston Post and Courier. The evacuations are intended to make sure that residents and tourists do not stick around for the landfall of Hurricane Florence, which has been described as a deadly storm that could pose serious threats to life in the southeastern United States. The planned evacuations also reportedly include areas of the state that are prone to flooding, as the storm is expected to dump heavy rains on the state when it arrives later this week. The director of the National Hurricane Center, Ken Graham, says that Hurricane Florence is likely to slow down as it approaches the Carolinas — which could have devastating consequences for residents both at the shoreline and further inland. “When you stall a system like this and it moves real slow, some of that rainfall can extend well away from the center,” Mr Graham said, according to the Associated Press. “It’s not just the coast.” The storm could have lasting impacts on the area, he said, and warned that power could go out for a longtime. Residents need to be prepared, he said. “Rain plus winds equals a lot of trees down and power outages that could be for an extended period of time,” Graham said. If you're curious what it is like inside of Hurricane Florence, some National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hurricane hunters have provided some video. Take a look, below:
The American Red Cross has begun partnering with local counties to open emergency shelters that could save lives in areas expected to be hit by Hurricane Florence later this week. The shelters are being opened all over, including in at least one county in South Carolina, Horry, where as many as 12,000 people will be able to seek refuge during the storm, according to local media President Donald Trump has reacted to Hurricane Florence, which is barreling towards the eastern US coast. Governor Larry Hogan has declared a state of emergency in Maryland, preparing resources to be used after Hurricane Florence makes landfall south of his mid-Atlantic state. The declaration shows that officials up and down the eastern seaboard are taking the coming hurricane seriously, and comes as some experts have suggested that Florence could intensify into a category 5 storm before it smashes into the US between Virginia and the Carolinas later this week Here's the latest from the National Hurricane Centre on Hurricane Isaac, which is located further into the Atlantic behind Florence. It is still unclear if it will hit any significant population centres, or come close. Here's the latest from the National Hurricane Centre on Hurricane Helene, which is behind both Florence and Isaac in the Atlantic Ocean. The storm is much too far from the Americas to pose any danger at this point. The latest advisory from the National Hurricane Centre on Hurricane Florence says that the storm is growing in strength and size. The 5pm advisory says that prolonged rain could lead to freshwater flooding in areas impacted by the storm in the southeastern US, and that storm surges could be deadly. A hurricane watch will likely be set by Tuesday morning, according to the advisory. Here's Vice President Mike Pence on the approach of Hurricane Florence:
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To hasten evacuations from coastal South Carolina, officials reversed the flow of traffic on some highways so all major roads led away from shore. Miles of traffic slowed to a crawl along the main highway along North Carolina's Outer Banks barrier islands.
The last Category 4 hurricane directly hit North Carolina was Hazel in 1954, a devastating storm that killed 19 people and destroyed some 15,000 homes.
States of emergency have been declared in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Maryland.
In addition to flooding the coast with wind-driven storm surges of seawater as high as 13 feet (4 m), Hurricane Florence could dump 15 to 25 inches (38 to 64 cm) of rain, with up to 35 inches (89 cm) in some spots, forecasters said.
“The Storms in the Atlantic are very dangerous,” Donald Trump tweeted “We encourage anyone in the path of these storms to prepare themselves and to heed the warnings of State and Local officials. The Federal Government is closely monitoring and ready to assist. We are with you!”
Things lost and saved: One year on from Hurricane Irma 7 show all Things lost and saved: One year on from Hurricane Irma 1/7 Inez Gibbs During September of 2017, the Caribbean was hit by two powerful hurricanes, Irma and Maria. Almost a year after the rebuilding effort continue at a slow pace and with fear of what this year hurricane season could bring. who is diabetic, lost everything except her bed and her teddy bears. Cash assistance from the Red Cross helped her to support herself while she waited to return to work. “These and my bed are the only things I saved. The teddy bears are my buddies, they are my friends. I bought them here from Jamaica 20 years ago. Everything else I had I lost. The cash I got was very helpful because I wasn’t able to work after the hurricane so it helped me to pay my bills and buy my medication.” Dennis Rivera/British Red Cross 2/7 Cleve Pennyfeather, Disaster Response Officer at BVI Red Cross Cleve has been working for the British Virgin Islands Red Cross since January this year, working with local communities to help them recover from Irma and prepare for future hurricanes. The house he grew up in was badly damaged by the hurricane. “This house is very sentimental to me - it has been in my family well over 80 years and it means a lot to us. I grew up in this house as a little boy until I left for high school. It belonged to my grandparents, and now belongs to my uncle who is 91. Irma completely destroyed the roof, but thankfully the Red Cross provided him with some cash so that he could buy materials to get it rebuilt.” Dennis Rivera/British Red Cross 3/7 Joan Chimney, 56 Joan runs the popular Sugar and Spice café on the island of Jost Van Dyke. She was on holiday in Grenada when the hurricane hit, but returned home to find her business badly damaged. “Everybody always comes to my restaurant and says they’re here for my patties. I make them every morning, wake up and come down to my shop to make them from scratch. The hurricane did some damage to my restaurant though - all the windows and doors gone. It’s a good thing that the Red Cross was there to give me some help buying them back so I could keep my business going.” Dennis Rivera/British Red Cross 4/7 Lorie Rymer, 70 Lorie, a keen viola player, saw his most treasured possession damaged in Hurricane Irma, all he has now is the broken remains. “My house I will build back, but there’s no way that I could replace my instrument, my viola, I cannot replace it. It was just precious, I can still hear it in my mind how it used to sound. I would give anything if I might be able to purchase one again, a used one. It has to be very old and seasoned wood, maybe 30, 40, 50 years old. I’m going to take this one with me to the UK and have it repaired.” Dennis Rivera/British Red Cross 5/7 Lucia Harrigan, 81 81-year-old Lucia, who had lived in her home for 60 years before it was destroyed by Hurricane Irma, is looking forward to returning to her own home. “When I see the destruction and I see what I had loved so dearly I sit down and I cry. The whole roof went, the shutters, and a brand new washer that I had just bought. I lost all my dining chairs, my living room set and a lot of my clothes, but I’m not worried about that, as long as I could find something to wear. But I saved a few things, maybe some are salvageable or maybe not. My favourite thing that I lost is the deeds to my land. I hope that I will get back in the house soon, because when you get to my age you like to be by yourself.” Dennis Rivera/British Red Cross 6/7 Darrel Turnball Hurricane Irma destroyed almost everything Darrel owned, including his much-loved photo-album, but he managed to recover one of his favourite childhood toys. “This is my best friend – I have carried him with me my whole life. When I got married he was with me, when I got divorced he was with me, he goes everywhere I go. I was so happy when I realised he hadn’t been damaged in the hurricane.” Dennis Rivera/British Red Cross 7/7 Rasheed Jennings, 20 When Irma hit, Rasheed sheltered in the bathroom with his mother, father and brother - from there all they could do was watch as Irma shattered their home. “The first thing that Irma blew out was the windows and then once the wind started to circle through the house it lifted up the doors and the roof, and once that was gone there was no protection and everything just started to float through the doors. Even my computer and PlayStation and all my gaming stuff was blown away, I didn’t even think to protect them. We could see the damage through the window in the bathroom but there wasn’t anything we could do at that point.” Dennis Rivera/British Red Cross 1/7 Inez Gibbs During September of 2017, the Caribbean was hit by two powerful hurricanes, Irma and Maria. Almost a year after the rebuilding effort continue at a slow pace and with fear of what this year hurricane season could bring. who is diabetic, lost everything except her bed and her teddy bears. Cash assistance from the Red Cross helped her to support herself while she waited to return to work. “These and my bed are the only things I saved. The teddy bears are my buddies, they are my friends. I bought them here from Jamaica 20 years ago. Everything else I had I lost. The cash I got was very helpful because I wasn’t able to work after the hurricane so it helped me to pay my bills and buy my medication.” Dennis Rivera/British Red Cross 2/7 Cleve Pennyfeather, Disaster Response Officer at BVI Red Cross Cleve has been working for the British Virgin Islands Red Cross since January this year, working with local communities to help them recover from Irma and prepare for future hurricanes. The house he grew up in was badly damaged by the hurricane. “This house is very sentimental to me - it has been in my family well over 80 years and it means a lot to us. I grew up in this house as a little boy until I left for high school. It belonged to my grandparents, and now belongs to my uncle who is 91. Irma completely destroyed the roof, but thankfully the Red Cross provided him with some cash so that he could buy materials to get it rebuilt.” Dennis Rivera/British Red Cross 3/7 Joan Chimney, 56 Joan runs the popular Sugar and Spice café on the island of Jost Van Dyke. She was on holiday in Grenada when the hurricane hit, but returned home to find her business badly damaged. “Everybody always comes to my restaurant and says they’re here for my patties. I make them every morning, wake up and come down to my shop to make them from scratch. The hurricane did some damage to my restaurant though - all the windows and doors gone. It’s a good thing that the Red Cross was there to give me some help buying them back so I could keep my business going.” Dennis Rivera/British Red Cross 4/7 Lorie Rymer, 70 Lorie, a keen viola player, saw his most treasured possession damaged in Hurricane Irma, all he has now is the broken remains. “My house I will build back, but there’s no way that I could replace my instrument, my viola, I cannot replace it. It was just precious, I can still hear it in my mind how it used to sound. I would give anything if I might be able to purchase one again, a used one. It has to be very old and seasoned wood, maybe 30, 40, 50 years old. I’m going to take this one with me to the UK and have it repaired.” Dennis Rivera/British Red Cross 5/7 Lucia Harrigan, 81 81-year-old Lucia, who had lived in her home for 60 years before it was destroyed by Hurricane Irma, is looking forward to returning to her own home. “When I see the destruction and I see what I had loved so dearly I sit down and I cry. The whole roof went, the shutters, and a brand new washer that I had just bought. I lost all my dining chairs, my living room set and a lot of my clothes, but I’m not worried about that, as long as I could find something to wear. But I saved a few things, maybe some are salvageable or maybe not. My favourite thing that I lost is the deeds to my land. I hope that I will get back in the house soon, because when you get to my age you like to be by yourself.” Dennis Rivera/British Red Cross 6/7 Darrel Turnball Hurricane Irma destroyed almost everything Darrel owned, including his much-loved photo-album, but he managed to recover one of his favourite childhood toys. “This is my best friend – I have carried him with me my whole life. When I got married he was with me, when I got divorced he was with me, he goes everywhere I go. I was so happy when I realised he hadn’t been damaged in the hurricane.” Dennis Rivera/British Red Cross 7/7 Rasheed Jennings, 20 When Irma hit, Rasheed sheltered in the bathroom with his mother, father and brother - from there all they could do was watch as Irma shattered their home. “The first thing that Irma blew out was the windows and then once the wind started to circle through the house it lifted up the doors and the roof, and once that was gone there was no protection and everything just started to float through the doors. Even my computer and PlayStation and all my gaming stuff was blown away, I didn’t even think to protect them. We could see the damage through the window in the bathroom but there wasn’t anything we could do at that point.” Dennis Rivera/British Red Cross
State governors said they would open shelters for displaced residents.
Behind Florence in the Atlantic are at least two other storm systems, Hurricane Isaac and Hurricane Helene. In the Pacific, the state of Hawaii is expecting to be hit by its second hurricane of the season if Hurricane Olivia makes its way to the islands as predicted. Isaac has weakened in recent hours, the NHC said.
WILMINGTON, N.C. — Motorists streamed inland on highways converted to one-way evacuation routes Tuesday as about 1.7 million people in three states were warned to get out of the way of Hurricane Florence. The hair-raising storm is taking dead aim at the Carolinas with 140 mph winds and potentially ruinous rains.
Florence was expected to blow ashore late Thursday or early Friday, then slow down and wring itself out for days, unloading 1 to 2½ feet of rain that could cause flooding well inland and wreak environmental havoc by washing over industrial waste sites and hog farms. Forecasters and politicians pleaded with the public to take the warnings seriously and minced no words in describing the threat.
"This storm is a monster. It's big and it's vicious. It is an extremely, dangerous, life-threatening, historic hurricane," North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said."The waves and the wind this storm may bring is nothing like you've ever seen. Even if you've ridden out storms before, this one is different. Don't bet your life on riding out a monster."
Florence was centered 785 miles southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina, moving west-northwest at 17 mph, the center said in its 5 p.m. advisory. Warnings have been issued from South Santee River, South Carolina, to Duck, North Carolina, and the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds.
A tropical storm watch has been issued from north of the North Carolina-Virginia border to Cape Charles Light, Virginia, and for the Chesapeake Bay south of New Point Comfort. Some hoped for divine intervention.
"I'm prayed up and as ready as I can get," Steven Hendrick said as he filled up gasoline cans near Conway, South Carolina.
President Trump declared states of emergency for North and South Carolina and Virginia, opening the way for federal aid. He said the federal government is "absolutely, totally prepared" for Florence. All three states ordered mass evacuations along the coast. But getting out of harm's way could prove difficult.
Florence is so wide that a life-threatening storm surge was being pushed 300 miles ahead of its eye, and so wet that a swath from South Carolina to Ohio and Pennsylvania could get deluged. People across the region rushed to buy bottled water and other supplies, board up their homes, pull their boats out of the water and get out of town.
A line of heavy traffic moved away from the coast on Interstate 40, the main route between the port city of Wilmington and inland Raleigh. Between the two cities, about two hours apart, the traffic flowed smoothly in places and became gridlocked in others because of fender-benders.
Only a trickle of vehicles was going in the opposite direction, including pickup trucks carrying plywood and other building materials. Long lines formed at service stations, and some started running out of gas as far west as Raleigh, with bright yellow bags, signs or rags placed over the pumps to show they were out of order. Some store shelves were picked clean.
"There's no water. There's no juices. There's no canned goods," Kristin Harrington said as she shopped at a Walmart in Wilmington.
Florence is the most dangerous of three tropical systems in the Atlantic. Tropical Storm Isaac was east of the Lesser Antilles and expected to pass south of Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and Cuba, while Hurricane Helene was moving northward away from land. Forecasters also were tracking two other disturbances.
The coastal surge from Florence could leave the eastern tip of North Carolina under more than 9 feet of water in spots, projections showed. "This one really scares me," National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham said.
Federal officials begged residents to put together emergency kits and have a plan on where to go.
"This storm is going to knock out power days into weeks. It's going to destroy infrastructure. It's going to destroy homes," said Jeff Byard, an official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Forecasters said parts of North Carolina could get 20 inches of rain, if not more, with as much as 10 inches elsewhere in the state and in Virginia, parts of Maryland and Washington, D.C.
One trusted computer model, the European simulation, predicted more than 45 inches in parts of North Carolina. A year ago, people would have laughed off such a forecast, but the European model was accurate in predicting 60 inches for Hurricane Harvey in the Houston area, so "you start to wonder what these models know that we don't," University of Miami hurricane expert Brian McNoldy said.
Florence's projected path includes half a dozen nuclear power plants, pits holding coal-ash and other industrial waste, and numerous hog farms that store animal waste in huge lagoons.
Duke Energy spokesman Ryan Mosier said operators would begin shutting down nuclear plants at least two hours before hurricane-force winds arrive.
North Carolina's governor issued what he called a first-of-its-kind mandatory evacuation order for North Carolina's fragile barrier islands from one end of the coast to the other. Typically, local governments in North Carolina make the call on evacuations.
"We've seen nor'easters and we've seen hurricanes before," Cooper said, "but this one is different."
US President Donald Trump called Hurricane Florence “one of the worst storms to hit the East Coast in many years” and warned people in its path to “prepare themselves”. Mr Trump pledged the resources of his federal government following the declaration of state emergencies in North Carolina, South Caroline, Virginia and Maryland. Florence is a an “extremely dangerous major hurricane with life-threatening wind speeds and rip currents", according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC). The hurricane was entered at 975 miles east-south-east of Cape Fear in North Carolina, according to the NHC 10am BST (5am AST) update.
Map of USA - where will Hurricane Florence make landfall? Florence is expected to smash into the Carolinas coast on Thursday. Although its exact landfall between the two states is still unknown, the most likely hit is expected to be in southeastern North Carolina near the border shared with South Carolina. NHC’s latest update said: “On the forecast track, the center of Florence will move over the southwestern Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda and the Bahamas through Wednesday, and approach the coast of North Carolina or South Carolina on Thursday."
Hurricane Florence projected path: Where Florence will hit
Florence is expected to strengthen in the next few hours, which could see it becoming a Category 5 hurricane if wind speeds reach 157mph. Once it makes landfall, the massive storm will continue to move further inland, with heavy rainfall expected to stretch “hundreds of miles”. Up to 30in of rain may hit in isolated pockets of areas, according to the NHC. Panicked residents in the path of the storm ransacked petrol supplies at gas stations, a spokesman for North Carolina Petroleum Marketers Association said.
Hurricane Florence projected path: Florence is expected to make landfall in North Carolina
Nadine Schlock, assistant store manager at a BP station in Wilmington, North Carolina, said: “People are getting frantic, I know some people were upset when we were out of gas. “We just told them we had a gas delivery on the way." Pictures shared online have shown empty supermarket shelves as people rush to get supplies ahead of securing their homes. Are there mandatory evacuations?
Hurricane Florence projected path: NASA captured the storms churning over the Atlantic Ocean
