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11 Sep 2018 / South Carolina, North Carolina & Virginia, United States

Hurricane Watch in effect for Florence

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Edisto Beach South Carolina to the North Carolina-Virginia border, and Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. Interests elsewhere in the southeastern and mid-Atlantic states should monitor the progress of Florence. Additional watches may be required later today…

…At 800am AST (1200 UTC), the center of the eye of Hurricane Florence was located near latitude 26.4 North, longitude 64.6 West. Florence is moving toward the west-northwest near 15 mph (24 km/h).

A west-northwestward to northwestward motion with a slight increase in forward speed are expected during the next couple of days. On the forecast track, the center of Florence will move over the southwestern Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda and the Bahamas through Wednesday, and approach the coast of North Carolina or South Carolina on Thursday.

Reports from an Air Force Reserve hurricane hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 130 mph (215 km/h) with higher gusts. However, Florence is still a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Re-strengthening is forecast to occur during the next day or so, and Florence is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane through Thursday night.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 40 miles (65 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 150 miles (240 km)…

STORM SURGE: The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water has the potential to reach the following heights above ground if peak surge occurs at the time of high tide:
Edisto Beach to Murrells Inlet - 2-4 ft
Murrells Inlet to Cape Fear - 4-6 ft
Cape Fear to Cape Lookout including The Neuse and Pamlico River - 6-12 ft
Cape Lookout to Ocracoke Inlet - 5-8 ft
Ocracoke Inlet to North Carolina/Virginia Border - 3-5 ft

The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast in areas of onshore winds, where the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves. Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances.

RAINFALL: Florence is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 15-20 inches with isolated maxima to 30 inches near Florence's track over portions of North Carolina, Virginia, and northern South Carolina through Saturday. This rainfall may produce life-threatening flash flooding.

WIND: Hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area by late Thursday or Thursday night, with tropical storm conditions possible by Thursday morning.

SURF: Swells generated by Florence are affecting Bermuda and portions of the U.S. East Coast. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

(For information about operations in the United States contact GAC North America at [email protected])

Source: National Hurricane Center, Miami FL, Hurricane Florence Intermediate Advisory No.48A issued at 800am AST on Tuesday, September 11, 2018

If quoting any content from Hot Port News, please cite GAC Hot Port News as the source.

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