National Hurricane Center
Hurricane Florence has just about reached the cost of the Carolinas, set to bring heavy rain and damaging winds to the area tomorrow and through the weekend. Florence is expected to arrive in southeast North Carolina on Friday morning before drifting south into South Carolina. However, it’s possible that Florence will stay just offshore, dumping rain on North Carolina as she moves south, not moving inland until she reaches Myrtle Beach.
Folks in Charleston, South Carolina, who have chosen not to evacuate, are preparing for a nasty storm that could make landfall right in their backyard. Although the storm has weakened to a Category 2, it’s still expected to bring some bad weather to the area this weekend.
Florence Will Bring Between 3 & 6 Inches of Rain to the Charleston Area
Here’s our latest rainfall forecast through Monday afternoon in association with #HurricaneFlorence
Charleston will see a good amount of rain from Florence, but the total rainfall predicted is several inches less than that of cities to the north. However, as the storm continues to track south, rainfall totals could increase.
“Growing confidence that Southeast SC will experience a [prolonged] period of tropical storm winds and heavy rain Friday – Saturday from #Florence. Southeast GA looks to experience the lower end of tropical storm criteria. Follow advice from [your] local government officials,” reads the latest update from the National Weather Service in Charlotte.
The Charleston area will see winds near tropical storm strength of 40 mph and somewhere between 3 to 6 inches of rain. Although the rain totals won’t be very high, those living in flood zones have been encouraged to evacuate.
“If you live in a low-lying area that has flooded in the past three years, now is the time to evacuate. This may be worse than what we’ve seen before,” Assistant Fire Chief Joey Roberts said during a press conference Wednesday.
Tropical Storm Force Winds Will Arrive in the Area Tonight
The winds in Charleston, South Carolina, will start to pick up tonight and will remain fairly steady throughout the storm. Tropical Force winds of 58 to 73 mph are expected in the area. These sustained winds will continue through much of the weekend.