Hurricane Florence, a powerful Category 2 storm, is closing in on the Southeast, bringing life-threatening storm surge and tons of rain.
Here’s the latest timeline:
— Florence was about 145 miles east/southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, Thursday morning.
— The Category 2 storm had winds of 105 mph.
— The storm has significantly slowed down, moving northwest at 10 mph.
— The center of Florence will approach the North and South Carolina coasts Thursday. The storm will then move near or over the coast of southern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina Thursday night and Friday.
— Landfall is expected Friday morning.
— The storm is expected to move very slowly across parts of eastern South Carolina Friday night through Saturday night. The slow movement will extend the damaging winds and huge amounts of rain, which will hit the same areas of North and South Carolina for 24 hours.
— Catastrophic flooding is forecast for the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.
— Up to 40 inches of rain could fall in the Carolinas and the rain may extend into the Appalachians and Northeast next week.
— Storm surge is also a major concern, potentially reaching 13 feet in parts of North Carolina.
