WILMINGTON — Hurricane Florence has finally made its way to land in the Carolinas and is now a category one storm, but Florence is expected to bring damaging wind and rains to the region.
More than 100,000 of residents across the Cape Fear region are without power according to Duke Energy’s outage map Friday morning. The storm is now producing 90-mile-per-hour winds sustained with strong gusts possible.
“Florence is moving toward the west-northwest near 6 mph (9 km/h). A turn toward the west at a slow forward speed is expected today, followed by a slow west-southwestward motion tonight and Saturday. On the forecast track, the center of Florence is expected to move inland across extreme southeastern North Carolina and extreme eastern South Carolina today and Saturday. Florence will then move generally northward across the western Carolinas and the central Appalachian Mountains early next week,” according to the National Hurricane Center.
As the storm moves inland it is expected to significantly weaken starting later today throughout the weekend. Storm surge up to 11-feet in the Wilmington area still pose a real danger to property and people.
According to City of Wilmington Spokeswoman Malissa Talbert, “As the wind increases from Hurricane Florence, City of Wilmington officials continue to strongly encourage residents to remain inside and do not drive. Reports of downed power lines and power outages are increasing and the city reminds city residents of these numbers:
- Call 341-7852 to report trees or tree limbs blocking roadways within city limits (leave a message if no one answers)
- Call 341-4646 to report flooding or other stormwater issues within city limits (leave a message if no one answers)
