With an capitulum - ripping howl and booming surf , Hurricane Florence has arrived . The tempest could be a landmark outcome thatbreaks rainfall records , leaves waterway oversupply for week , and reshapes the Carolinas coast for decades .
Florence is a super - sized , powerful Category 2 hurricane with tropical violent storm - force breaking wind extending 195 mil out from its core . Because of its prodigious size , the violent storm has yet to make landfall , but its winds have neverthless whipped the sea into a delirium . Those winds can heardhowlingat the Frying Pan , a decommissioned lighthouse 34 miles off the North Carolina coast .
The breakers and storm surge are already cutting through North Carolina ’s Outer Banks and bands of rainwater are lashing the coast . Roads from the Outer Banks have been close and ferries have turn back run as tempest surge cuts across the islands , carving raw inlets , stirring sea froth , and clawing at the foundations and stilts lifting dwelling house above the normally tranquil beach .
water supply surge over dune and retiring homes on Hatteras Island#HurricaneFlorence
Hatteras switch off off from mainland after N.C. 12 closurehttps://t.co/yhuTw4CNRNpic.twitter.com/96ZpjaTAwZ
— The Virginian - Pilot ( @virginianpilot)September 13 , 2018
tempest surge is the mortal consequence of hurricanes and we ’re already see some effects from Florence . look on as an interior bulwark is ripped off a frame from a beach home near the coastline as captured by our field of honor correspondents.pic.twitter.com/nc5MyC9ckN
— WeatherNation ( @WeatherNation)September 13 , 2018
It ’s the startle of what will be a hellacious few days as Florence move ashore at a front crawl and then cuts inland . Storm surge is bear to reach up to 13 foot , inundate coastal lowlands . That soggy ground also intend that winds will have an easier metre toppling powerlines and leading to outage .
Paige Sheehan , a spokesperson for local utility Duke Energy , told Earther on Wednesday that the society had 20,000 worker at the quick to bushel power , but that it was warning customers they could be without power for weeks .
“ People who have spent their whole career here who have not see an outcome like Florence , ” she said .
State Department of emergency have been declared from Georgia to Maryland , underline just how wide Florence ’s impacts could be . North and South Carolina as well as Virginia haveordered voiding for coastal counties . The orders affect 1.5 million masses , though some have chosen to ignore them .
The storm means business . We ’ll be watching it tight and update this post periodically . Earther also has ahandy list of toolsyou can practice to track the violent storm , whether you ’re in harm ’s way or look out from afar .
Update 9/13 3:45 p.m. ET : Right now , the biggest issue with Florence is storm surge . piss pushed ashore by Florence ’s wind is cutting through the barrier island of the Outer Banks and slamming into the seacoast . The range are striking and the upsurge is only going to get worse as the storm moves ashore .
The upsurge is bad news , but even worse intelligence is how long it could last . Firenze ’s slow movement means we could see days on close of high tides , hampering rescue efforts and increasing the risk of habitation being lap away .
supererogatory - tropical violent storm surge guidance suggests coastal#floodingover 7 , maybe 8 high tide bike , including this previous AM ’s high lunar time period , perhaps through Sunday , if not Sunday night . Wow.#Florencepic.twitter.com / BY3kJ7qwKk
— Jonathan Erdman ( @wxjerdman)September 13 , 2018
violent storm surge is one of the clear climate change links when talking about Florence . Higher sea intend high surge . But it ’s an exclamation point on an spread out disaster : Wilmington , North Carolina saw84 days of floodson sunny day in 2016 .
Update 9/13 4:06 p.m. ET : The hurricane force out fart have arrived . A buoy near Wrightsville Beach ( no tie to the Wright Brothers ) commemorate a gust of 76 miles per hour , just a iota over hurricane force . The graph below also shows air pressure dropping like wild , an indicator that more powerful share of the hurricane are coming ashore . And yet Florence ’s eye is still well out to ocean . Things are only going to get more wild from here .
We have our first hurricane strength tip gust at the buoy off of Wrightsville Beach , NC . 66kts ( 76mph!)#Florence#NCwxpic.twitter.com / UuxHC8zZZU
— Ed Vallee ( @EdValleeWx)September 13 , 2018
Update 9/13 5:50 p.m. ET : I ’ve been find out the Frying Pan flag . You ’ve been watching the fry Pan flag . Nearly 90,000 arewatching the fry Pan flagstone liveright now . The sight of the ol’ genius and stripes twisting and fraying in Florence ’s howling wind 34 miles off the North Carolina glide has mesmerise the nation . Weather Nation meteorologist Dakota Smith has turned it into a time lapse so you may enjoy a whole Clarence Shepard Day Jr. ’s Charles Frederick Worth of drama in just 32 s . There ’s surely ametaphor in here somewhere …
Time lapse of flag ripped to whit by Hurricane Florence .
A testament to its mogul & duration . ( https://t.co/WUeAfe3mvB)pic.twitter.com/2xvr9bIivA
— Dakota Smith ( @weatherdak)September 13 , 2018
Update 9/13 9:02 p.m. ET : The hurricane - force winds have arrived . Cape Lookout in the Outer Banks recorded sustained winds of 83 mph withgusts topping out at 106 mph , which are family 2 - level winds . In that same news report , the National Hurricane Center noted that a few other privately operated stations are reporting hurricane - forcefulness sustained wind and blow as well . Florence continues to scoot towards the shoring and may have picked up a little steam from feeding off of the warm Gulf Stream .
Those idle words and accompanying storm surge are also knocking out power and becoming super severe . A unrecorded feed coif up by hurricanetrack.com andbeing programme by Patternin New Bern ’s Union Point Park on the banks of the Neuse River bewitch the here and now the lights lead out in townsfolk . Residents there are among themore than 100,000who have reportedly lose force . According to Accuweather , that includes every customer in Pamlico and Carteret counties .
And the danger of storm rush forced WCTI meteorologists to evacuate on - air , leave an eerie radiolocation loop of Florence as they left the studio . When the meteorologists void , you sleep together things are getting hairy .
Update 9/13 11:15 p.m. ET : None of this is good :
NHC Update , 11 pm :
Hurricane#Florenceis in the unconscious process of take a crap landfall .
It ’s still on track to bring 10 - 15 ft of storm surge .
It ’s still on track to bring 20 - 40 " of rain .
It ’s still on path to become one of the worst hurricane ever to score the East Coast.pic.twitter.com/1a3J6kY3NE
— Eric Holthaus ( @EricHolthaus)September 14 , 2018
We ’re up to more than 150,000 without power in North Carolina and Florence is still rumbling ashore . There’s“significant flooding”occurring on rivers according to the National Weather Service . And winds are really starting to rip . And we have n’t even really begun to see the hard rains Florence has in stock for the Carolinas .
That is a speed limit sign in Oriental North Carolina has the storm surge proceed to risepic.twitter.com/BDm3E1Z7b8
— Mark Sudduth ( @hurricanetrack)September 14 , 2018
Outside the NWS Newport / Morehead City at 930 pm.pic.twitter.com/tErYVLRYQd
— NWS Newport / Morehead ( @NWSMoreheadCity)September 14 , 2018
Update 9/14 7:50 a.m. ET : Florence has officially made landfall as its nub moved ashore near Wrightsville Beach . The National Hurricane Center reckon that its central winds are 90 miles per hour , but some location are seeing higher gusts .
NEW:#Hurricane#Florencehas made landfall near Wrightsville Beach , North Carolina at 7:15 AM EDT ( 1115 UTC ) with estimated maximal winds of 90 mph ( 150 kilometer / h ) , and a minimal cardinal pressure estimation of 958 mb ( 28.29").https://t.co / tW4KeGdBFbpic.twitter.com / vzpe6MjTf9
— National Hurricane Center ( @NHC_Atlantic)September 14 , 2018
The eyewall is hitting Wilmington just a few miles west from Wrightsville Beach and the videos are harrowing . meteorologist on the ground are describe gusts in excessiveness of 90 mph , show Florence is pack a major punch . It should go without read but do not try this at home .
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1040551720189878272
Wilmingtoncurrently in the eyewall of#Florence – winding gusting 90 + mphpic.twitter.com/7sFyyZM33D
— Alex Wilson ( @TWCAlexWilson)September 14 , 2018
It appears some locations are already inside Florence ’s centre as well . The eye is literally the calm air at the center of the tempest where flatus leave out to a rustle . It is freaky , but also a welcome temporary suspension for those in Florence ’s path .
Video from inside calm eye as a well delimit eyewall approaches our location during Hurricane#Florenceat Wrightsville Beach.pic.twitter.com/HIghfIeTHQ
— Mike Theiss ( @MikeTheiss)September 14 , 2018
Update 9/14 8:20 a.m. ET : If you ’ve maintain an center on Twitter during the discharge up to Florence , there ’s a undecomposed hazard a Weather Channel visual image of violent storm rush tally your timeline . If you have n’t watch over it , I ’d inspire you to . I ’ve studied and written about this hooey for a decennary , and it hit home for me in a very visceral way . Storm surge is a true military force of nature . This is why there were compulsory coastal evacuations .
violent storm billow will be a huge gene for Hurricane#FlorenceCheck out what it might look like with @TWCErikaNavarro : pic.twitter.com / TPqTZTmiAM
— The Weather Channel ( @weatherchannel)September 13 , 2018
Update 9/14 10:35 a.m. ET : The next time you get demented that it ’s rain out and the prognosis send for for sunlight , recollect this . The National Hurricane Center absolutely freaking nailed the Florence forecast . The Sunday forecast — five solar day before Florence ’s landfall when the storm was nearly 1,500 miles out to ocean — call in for landfall on the northern part of Wrightsville Beach . tight forward to this morning time and the hurricane made landfall two miles to the south . That ’s what I call pinpoint accuracy .
This is incredible . The first prognosis from@NHC_Atlanticthat had#Florencemaking landfall was Advisory # 40 on Sunday sunup at 5AM . This 5 day prognosis was around 2 miles aside from the actual full stop of landfall this dawn . Amazing accuracy.pic.twitter.com/uB5DuNGKWD
— Evan Bentley ( @evan_bentley)September 14 , 2018
Update 9/14 11:25 a.m. ET : Once again , astronauts have the full view of Florence . Insulated from the Eumenides of the violent storm and with a birds eye opinion , the Space Station affords a unequaled perspective of the fury Earth can let loose . Luckily we can also catch a glimpse of what they ’re seeing from an HD camera mounted on the Space Station , which captured Florence minutes after landfall on Friday daybreak . The survey is a bit vertigo - induce , but well deserving your time to truly understand the scale and sizing of this storm .
Update 9/14 11:50 p.m. ET : Water deliverance are happening just as mellow tide hits . Rescue workers are using boats and high clearance vehicles to respond to people stranded in the floodwaters in James City , which sits next to New Bern . That ’s where some of the most dramatic footage of Florence ’s flooding has come from . Swift Creek — just upstream of New Bern — is presently inmajor flood stageaccording to the National Weather Service . The images emerging of first responder putting masses in gravy holder and ferrying them to safety are surely the first of many .
Update 9/14 1:28 p.m. ET : Sure , I may be bias , but when I require lifehacks , I visitLifehacker . And with Florence , there ’s no deficit of hacks to be had . Our sidekick over there have an thoroughgoing collection of blogs that can help youunderstand the storm , obtain asylum if you’retrying to get out of the way , andhow to help from afar .
Update 9/14 3:17 p.m. ET : There is a lot happening across North Carolina right now as rain and flooding spread inland . So far there have been nearly 644,000 great power outages and more than 100 swift water supply rescuesaccording North Carolina ’s Department of Public Safety , which is provide updating information in real time .
And not to be blank out , Florence ’s violent storm upsurge has set a record . Bob Henson at Weather Undergroundhas the scoopon the unexampled high urine mark set at Beaufort , North Carolina :
“ This morning at 3:24 am EDT , a violent storm surge of or so 5.51 feet was recorded at the Beaufort gauge . Fortunately , the tide was withdraw rapidly at that point , but the violent storm lunar time period ( the compounding of the surge and tide ) still sic an all - prison term piddle grade at the gauge near 2 am : 3.74 ’ above the in high spirits lunar time period mark ( Mean high High Water , or MHHW ) .
As Henson notes , the record could n’t have happened without climate change . Sea levels have risen a little more than 8 inches since Hurricane Hazel in 1954 , which have the late record stage setting surge . The Cape Fear River at Wilmington also just set a Modern gamey piss mark , besting a book set just two years ago during Hurricane Matthew . It ’s an unpleasant reminder sea level rise iscreating a implosion therapy crisis .
The Cape Fear River at Wilmington just set up a new criminal record crest mainly from storm surge . This outflank the old record arrange in 2016 during Hurricane Matthew.pic.twitter.com/iKfhdap0fr
— Taylor Trogdon ( @TTrogdon)September 14 , 2018
Local police in Wilmington also confirmed thefirst two fatalitiesfrom Florence , and major intelligence outlets are reporting there may beup to four deaths . We ’ll keep an center out for more confirmation .
Update 9/14 4:58 p.m. ET : The National Hurricane center hasdowngraded Florence to a tropic stormas it reel like a drunk inland . But despite the “ downgrade ” from hurricane to tropical violent storm , it still packs a major punch . The violent storm is move at a whopping 3 mph , enough for a brisk New York baby-walker to do laps around .
As a outcome of the slow movement and still expansive windfield , storm surge is bear to continue sloshing around . Up to 12 foot is expect on the Neuse , Pamlico , Pungo , and Bay Rivers .
Some area have already seen 20 inches of rain and Florence ’s plodding stride mean those totals will continue to wax large sentence . It ’s only a topic of time before the state ’s rainfall book fall .
Update 9/15 2:00 p.m. ET : “ Catastrophic ” rain continues throughout much of southeasterly North Carolina , with 15 to 30 inches of pelting describe in some areas and up to 15 more expected , according to theWashington Post .
According to rainfall report posted by the National Weather Service , Swansboro saw over 30 inch of pelting . If confirm , that would shatter the state ’s previous tropical rain disc of 24 in duringHurricane Floyd in 1999 , Accuweather wrote .
Updated preliminary rainfall reports from Florence meet as of noon Saturday . Heavy rainfall proceed in many of these areas.pic.twitter.com/2ehVAj5NRg
— NWS Eastern Region ( @NWSEastern)September 15 , 2018
artificial satellite imagery from NOAA shows that the storm is nowslowly moving inland . Evacuation order in parts of South Carolina have been lifted , according to Accuweather , but police force are warning citizen in Cumberland County , the City of Fayetteville , and the town of Wade to void due to surging river levels .
- MANDATORY EVACUATIONS * * * * *
There is a mandatory voidance in blank space for citizens of Cumberland County , City of Fayetteville , and the town of Wade . All residents within one mile of the banks of the Cape Fear and Little River should leave IMMEDIATELYpic.twitter.com/pAzFhP2otZ
— Fayetteville Police ( @FayettevillePD)September 15 , 2018
hurricane time of year
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