National Weather Service Though Hurricane Florence was downgraded to a category 2 hurricane, it's still caused storm surges up to 10 feet in some areas, with the worst of the flooding still expected to come.
Though Hurricane Florence has been downgraded to a category 2 hurricane, it’s still likely to cause significant damage via flooding along the Carolinas. For now, Wilmington, North Carolina looks like it will receive the highest levels of rainfall of any region from the hurricane.
According to CNN, Wilmington is likely to receive eight months’ worth of rain over the next three days.
Here’s what you need to know.
Wilmington Is Expected to Receive Upwards of 20 Inches of Rainfall From Hurricane Florence
Here is the latest satellite image of Florence. Most likely arrival time of tropical storm force winds in our area is late morning/early afternoon tomorrow. Today is the last day to safely travel out of the area. Please heed any evacuation orders and we will continue to monitor.
Wilmington is likely to receive upwards of 20 inches of rainfall over the next several days.
Accuweather reports that residents of the Carolina coastline will likely be “bombarded” with rain and heavy wind from Thursday to Saturday. Though NWS estimates upwards of 20 inches of rainfall along the coastline, Accuweather is estimating closer to 40 inches, which could lead to catastrophic levels of flooding from the coastline inland.
NWS confirms that “major to extreme flooding” is likely across central and eastern North Carolina, as Hurricane Florence threatens to pound the area for a full 24 hours.
Wilmington Is in the Area With the Highest Predicted Storm Surge
National Hurricane CenterWilmington is likely to experience high storm surges of up to 13 feet from Hurricane Florence.
Wilmington will likely experience storm surges of up to 13 feet starting on Thursday. Weather.com says of the expected storm surges: “A destructive storm surge will accompany the eye coming ashore sometime from Thursday night into Friday or Saturday, and coastal flooding may persist through multiple high tide cycles into this weekend east of the center of Florence. Large, battering waves will ride atop this surge. All evacuation orders from local officials should be followed because of this dangerous threat. Significant beach erosion is also likely on the southeastern U.S. coast. Elevated water levels may persist for some time after landfall in areas where onshore winds persist.”
The Weather Channel estimates that storm surges of nine feet could cause floods that are so high they might cover the entire first floor of buildings.