Florence could threaten east coast as a major hurricane this week



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Tropical Storm Florence, currently in the Atlantic about 1,500 miles from the coast and 765 miles from Bermuda, is expected to turn into a hurricane Sunday and gain power for days.

And computer models are showing more and more that it could be dangerously close to the United States on Thursday night. The window for the storm to miss the US coast and return harmlessly to the sea closes, CNN forecasters said.

"It seems that now, the consensus (computer model) places it somehow between Georgia and North Carolina," said Saturday afternoon the meteorologist Allison Chinchar.

"If you live anywhere along the east coast, you want to be careful because even if you do not like the main landing point, you will still have impacts," including heavy rains and tear currents. I said.

Watch the storm and compare different forecasting models
A forecast cone, created on Saturday noon, shows the likely range of the center of Florence for five days.

Virginia and North Carolina and South Carolina are already on alert. Their governors declared the state of emergency Friday and Saturday.

"While the impacts of tropical storm Florence on Virginia are still uncertain, forecasts are increasingly predicting that the storm will turn into a major hurricane that could seriously affect the east coast and the Virginians," the governor said Saturday. from Virginia, Virginia Northam.

"We are preparing for the worst and, of course, we hope everything will be fine," said South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, adding that his statement would allow state agencies to quickly deploy assets on the coast. .

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has waived some transportation restrictions so farmers can harvest and move crops faster.

Cooper also urged people to learn the escape routes to take and put fuel in their vehicles in case they would be ordered to leave.

"Today's action can avoid losses due to Florence," he said.

Forecast Models for the Florence Road from 11:15 am (Eastern Time) Saturday

The Navy said Saturday that it may be necessary to send ships to the Norfolk area of ​​Virginia due to the upcoming storm. The Navy put them on the Condition Bravo exit, which means that the destruction time is 48 hours.

In a press release, the Navy said the ships could better manage the destructive weather at sea and that "the current ships made them ready and available to meet all national tasks, including the storm has passed. "

Why Florence should strengthen

Florence had already been the first major hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic season earlier this week, but the wind shear weakened it by a tropical storm.

Starting Sunday morning, the center of Florence had sustained maximum winds of 70 mph.

Tropical Storm Florence appears on a Saturday morning satellite image.
But the shear is easing and the storm is approaching warmer waters – conditions that could allow Florence to become a hurricane Sunday and a major hurricane – which means a Category 3 or higher storm – by Monday, said the National Hurricane Center.

Bermuda and the east coast of the United States are starting to see the first impacts of Florence. Some waves generated by the storm have already been reported and can potentially cause dangerous surf conditions and tear currents.

Two more storms are preparing

Behind Florence are two more storms that the National Hurricane Center is monitoring.

The tropical depression Nine became tropical storm Isaac on Saturday afternoon over the eastern tropical Atlantic, said the National Hurricane Center. On Sunday, it was about 1500 miles from the easternmost Caribbean islands and could become a hurricane on Monday.
The hurricane season in the Atlantic will reach its peak on Monday.

Behind Isaac, tropical storm Helene, who was crossing the Cabo Verde Islands in southern West Africa on Sunday morning, will become a hurricane Sunday night, the National Hurricane Center announced.

The three tropical systems – Florence, Isaac and Hélène – arrive just before the hurricane season reaches its peak on Monday. The eight weeks around this date are often prime time for the conditions that fuel the powerful storms.

Haley Brink, Brandon Miller and Judson Jones of CNN contributed to this report.

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