JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The East Coast could be hit with a powerful hurricane late this week as Tropical Storm Florence continues to strengthen as it moves toward the mainland.
Florence is expected to regain hurricane-strength winds on Sunday, then rapidly intensify into a major hurricane as it travels between Bermuda and the Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center said.
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The latest track from the National Hurricane Center aims the storm towards the North Carolina and South Carolina coasts with a Category 4 hurricane-landfall expected Thursday evening.
Governors in both South Carolina and Virginia declared a state of emergency Saturday to give their states time to prepare for the possible arrival of the storm. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster emphasized that there’s no way to know yet when and where the storm will hit land, or when evacuations might be called.
At 5 a..m. Sunday, the storm had sustained winds of 70 mph with gusts to 85 mph. It was center 765 miles southeast of Bermuda and moving west at 6 mph.
Locally, Florence will produce waves along our beaches this weekend into next, therefore you should expect dangerous rip currents and coastal gusts.