Hurricane Florence path: Where is the storm heading?

Hurricane Florence claimed its first lives on Friday as it battered the North and South Carolina coast with high winds, sea surges and a deluge of rain.

More than 700,000 homes in the state have lost power. Winds of more than 100mph are lashing the coast and a rising wall of water is causing storm surges of up to 11ft.

More than 1.5 million people had been ordered to flee their homes before the hurricane made landfall on Friday. Millions remain in its path and have been warned by the governor of North Carolina that they faced an “extremely dangerous situation”. The eye of the storm came ashore in North Carolina but states of emergency were also declared in South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia and the District of Columbia.



What is going to happen next?
Hurricane Florence’s potential impact. The yellow represents urban areas with more than 50,000 inhabitants





The hurricane grew 400 miles wider on Thursday, making it larger than North and South Carolina combined. Rather than passing quickly Florence is expected to linger, pushing torrential rain south into Georgia.

Southeastern North Carolina will bear the brunt of the storm before Florence heads northward across the western Carolinas. As the storm slowly heads inland over the weekend Florence will move west-southwest, inching towards Virginia’s Appalachian mountain range


The National Hurricane Center (NHC), based in Miami, have forecasted a “gradual weakening” of wind speeds at the start of the weekend and “significant weakening” early next week once the eye of the storm has moved further inland.


Hurricane season in the Atlantic
Three major storms are being monitored





Despite being downgraded from a category 4 hurricane to tropical storm since Wednesday, officials warn that Florence remains dangerous. “Life-threatening, catastrophic flash flooding and significant river flooding is possible over portions of the Carolinas and mid-Atlantic states from late this week into early next week,” the National Hurricane Centre said.

The hurricane is pushing a wall of water into the coast and along inland waterways but heavy rainfall may pose an even greater threat to life across the Carolinas. Between 20 to 40 inches of rain are forecast in the worst-hit places in coming days.

Julian Heming, tropical prediction scientist at the Met Office, said Hurricane Florence is moving slowly inland because it is coming up against a blocking area of high pressure over North America. “The main threat is the rainfall,” he said. “The thing that’s most unusual is the fact it was going so slowly at landfall.”


Heavy rain hits the east coast
24 hour precipitation forecasts for September 12 to 15. The National Weather Center have already warned that rainfall could bring dangerous inland flooding





Earlier this week Hurricane Florence was category 4 because it was carrying 130 to 140mph maximum sustained winds. However, the hurricane made landfall in North Carolina as a category 1 storm because its winds had dropped to 90 mph. Although category 1 winds are not said to be “catastrophic”, they still have the power to damage roofs and topple trees.


Advice to residents?


Roy Cooper, the governor of North Carolina, has warned against underestimating FLorence’s power. “This storm is going to continue its violent grind across our state for days. Be alert. To those in the storm path, if you can hear me – please stay sheltered in place. Do not go out into this storm.”


Is North Carolina used to hurricanes?


Storms are not unusual on this stretch of coastline and the last category 1 hurricane to directly hit North Carolina was Arthur in 2014. Hurricane Fran, category 3, struck North Carolina as category 3 in 1996 and Hugo struck South Carolina as category 4 in 1989. Hurricane Hazel, in 1954, was famously deadly and destroyed 15,000 buildings.



However, Florence is remarkable because it is moving slowly and causing large amounts of rainfall in a similar way to Hurricane Harvey which left Houston under water last year. In contrast, Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria had much stronger winds but the rain posed less of a threat.

Dr Steven Godby, expert in natural hazards at Nottingham Trent University, said: “Hurricane experts have drawn parallels between Florence and two hurricanes that struck the same coast in 1955. Hurricanes Connie and Ione were both Category 4 storms that made slow-moving landfalls as Category 2 causing high storm surges and rainfall totals. With coastal development that has taken place since 1955 it is likely that Florence will prove to be one of the most expensive hurricanes ever.”
Donald Trump inspects the path of Hurricane Florence in the Oval OfficeREUTERS

Florence is not the only storm over the Atlantic. Tropical Storm Isaac has weakened to a depression after passing the Lesser Antilles, while further east Hurricane Helene is making its way across the Atlantic towards Britain. The remnants of Helene are expected to hit Britain on Tuesday.


Friday September 14


Florence smashed into the Carolinas, pounding coastal areas with high winds, a surge of sea water and torrential rain. More than 700,000 people were left without power and millions more were warned by the governor of North Carolina that they were facing “an extremely dangerous situation”.


Thursday September 13


Winds continued to slow as the first rain storms hit North Carolina. Despite a third downgrade in two days, from category 4 to category 1, the NHC director warned that the coming waves would put lives at risk.


Wednesday September 12


The NHC said that Florence was moving between Bermuda and the Bahamas. Florence was downgraded from category 4 to category 2 for wind speed but forecasters warned that flooding could continue into Saturday.


Tuesday September 11


Hurricane Florence approached at category 4 wind speeds. Roy Cooper, the governor of North Carolina, said: “This storm is a monster. It’s big and it’s vicious. It is an extremely dangerous, life-threatening, historic hurricane.”


Tuesday September 4


Tropical Storm Florence became the third hurricane of the Atlantic season after its maximum sustained winds reached 75mph. At the time the storm was located 1,240 miles from the Cabo Verde islands in the central Atlantic Ocean.