'Storm of a Lifetime' Florence Set to Make Landfall in Carolinas Today

By David E. Hubler
Contributor, EDM Digest

Hurricane Florence was approaching the North Carolina coast early Thursday morning as a Category 2 storm moving northwest at 12 mph. Florence has winds of 110 mph, CNN Weather reported.

North Carolina may get 10 trillion gallons of rain over the next week from Hurricane Florence https://t.co/Xy9fx0H1JM

— CNN (@CNN) September 13, 2018

The monster storm is expected to make landfall near Wilmington, N.C., then swing south into South Carolina before turning north on Sunday.

Damage from Hurricane Florence Could Be the Worst since Hugo

Florence is poised to be the most devastating storm to hit this part of the East Coast since Hurricane Hugo in 1989. The National Weather Service office in Wilmington, N.C., said Florence is likely to be the “storm of a lifetime” for portions of the Carolinas.

I was just briefed on Hurricane Florence. FEMA, First Responders and Law Enforcement are supplied and ready. We are with you! https://t.co/mP7icn0Yzl pic.twitter.com/a8KQ0lcoSD

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 13, 2018

Florence may produce anywhere from 20 to 30 inches of rain in some places. The storm could also drop as much as 40 inches of rain from coastal southeast North Carolina to northeastern South Carolina, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The New York Times predicts that the storm surge could “reach 13 feet in places.” The surge could erode beaches and roads, make floods worse, and destroy boats and buildings.

CNN Weather Report Shows Severity of Storm

According to CNN Weather:

• If Florence were to make landfall as a Category 4, which is possible if it gets to land before it stalls, it would be the strongest storm to make landfall anywhere on the East Coast when Hurricane Andrew hit in 1992.
• The tropical storm-force winds stretch more than 315 miles, far enough to reach from Washington, D.C., to Charlotte, North Carolina.
• The winds cover an area more than 73,000 square miles. That is larger than every state east of the Mississippi River.
• More than 25 million peopleare threatened by the storm. The “forecast cone” from the National Hurricane Center extends from Virginia to Alabama as of Wednesday morning.

CNN has posted a checklist of preparations for people in the path of the storm. The list was compiled from the American Red Cross, Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Hurricane Center.