Yahoo News explains: Expert warnings for Hurricane Florence
As Hurricane Florence barrels toward the U.S. East Coast, over 1.5 million people have been ordered to evacuate in coastal areas from South Carolina to Virginia.
FEMA official Jeff Byard said Tuesday, “This is a major storm. It’s going to hit our coast; it’s going to stay on our coast. It’s going to dump amounts of water that some of these areas haven’t seen in a long, long time.”
As of Tuesday, Florence had sustained winds of 130 mph, making it a Category 4 storm. It is expected to make landfall Friday. North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., have declared states of emergency.
Here are some of the key warnings from the National Hurricane Center:
1) A “life-threatening storm surge” — a surge of ocean water over normally dry land — is likely along portions of the coastlines of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. A storm surge watch is also in effect for part of this area.
#Florence is likely to produce a life-threatening storm surge along the
coastlines of South Carolina, North Carolina & Virginia, and a
Storm Surge Watch is in effect for a portion of this area. Full zoomable map: https://t.co/g7mGZdhZLS pic.twitter.com/YXaZaVGx5a— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 11, 2018
2) “Life-threatening, catastrophic flash flooding” is possible over parts of the Carolinas and mid-Atlantic states from late this week into early next week.
Like Hurricane Harvey — which stalled over Texas in 2017 — Florence could linger over the Southeast for several days after making landfall, bringing prolonged, heavy rain.
#Florence could produce life-threatening, catastrophic flash flooding & significant river flooding over portions of the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic states from late this week into early next week. Graphic via @NWSWPC, and the full advisory is at https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/0bQAIiBMKZ
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 11, 2018
3) “Damaging hurricane-force winds” are expected along portions of the North Carolina and South Carolina coasts. A hurricane watch is in effect for a part of this area.
#Florence is likely to cause damaging hurricane-force winds along parts of the
coasts of South & North Carolina, & a Hurricane Watch is in effect for some of this area. Damaging winds could also spread well inland into portions of the Carolinas & Virginia https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/DzNeyuPLYV— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 11, 2018
4) Large swells affecting portions of the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda will result in life-threatening surf and rip currents.
Hurricane Florence could inflict the hardest punch North Carolina has seen in more than 60 years. North Carolina has only been hit by one other Category 4 storm since record keeping began in the 1850s — Hurricane Hazel in 1954, which took 19 lives.
