Hurricane Florence began lashing coastal North Carolina on Thursday, knocking out power to tens of thousands of residents and raising fears of life-threatening flooding and storm surges across the region.
More than 88,000 homes and businesses along the length of the North Carolina coast had lost power by late Thursday, according to the the state’s Department of Emergency Management.
Forecasters say Florence, which is quickly weakening and was downgraded to a Category 1 storm late Thursday, will dump 20 to 30 inches of rain around Wilmington, North Carolina, and generate storm surges as high as 13 feet in the region.
At 11 p.m. Thursday, the center of Florence was 60 miles east-southeast of Wilmington, the weather service said. The storm was creeping northwest at 6 mph with sustained winds of 95 mph.
Florence is expected to linger along the coast before heading inland, producing flooding that will inundate the area for many days, the National Weather Service said.
After soaking South Carolina, Florence is expected to curve northward along the Appalachians, bringing the possibility of drenching rains to already saturated western Virginia by early next week.
Although Hampton Roads was spared a direct hit, Florence will produce storm surges along the Virginia coast that could push tides more than 5 feet above normal in some areas, including the mouth of the York River, forecasters say.
A tropical storm warning is in effect from Poquoson to the Virginia-North Carolina border, including the lower James and York rivers.
In the Historic Triangle, a coastal flood warning is in effect for James City County, Williamsburg and York County through 6 a.m. Sunday.
More Hurricane Florence coverage:
- Florence forces Busch Gardens to close on first day of Howl-O-Scream
- WJCC schools, offices closed Friday because of weather
- Jamestown-Scotland Ferry to run at reduced capacity through the weekend
- Live Blog: The heart of Hurricane Florence
- VDOT: Bridges, tunnels in Hampton Roads aren’t closing for storm
- Historic artifacts moved off Jamestown Island before Florence brings flooding
