Hurricane Florence’s winds have diminished somewhat, but the storm remains a major threat to the Southeast coast, the National Hurricane Center said Tuesday.
Florence is still a powerful Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 130 mph, the hurricane center said. The storm is becoming better organized and is expected to grow as it approaches the coast.
At 2 p.m. Tuesday, the storm was about 845 miles east-southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina, and moving west-northwest at 17 mph, the hurricane center said.
A storm-surge watch is in effect from Edisto Beach, South Carolina, to the North Carolina-Virginia border. A storm surge watch means there is a possibility of life-threatening inundation during the next 48 hours in the watch area.
The same area also is under a hurricane watch, which means the area could begin experiencing tropical-storm-force winds within 48 hours.
The latest predictions have moved Florence’s path slightly north, with an anticipated landfall early Friday in North Carolina between Wilmington and Morehead City.
Florence, with hurricane-force winds that extend 60 miles from its center, is expected to speed up as it strengthens over the next 48 hours and will remain a major threat as it nears the coast.
“While some weakening is expected on Thursday, Florence is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane through landfall,” the hurricane center said.
