The storm could threaten the East Coast as a major hurricane next weekend

Tropical storm Florence is expected to turn into a hurricane and could threaten the east coast next week.

The National Hurricane Center says the storm may be hurricane Sunday.

Florence is expected to be a major dangerous hurricane near the southeastern coast of the United States in the coming days, but it is too early to determine the exact timing, location and extent of the storm, forecasters said. National Hurricane Center.

On Wednesday, Florence became the first major hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic season, with maximum winds reaching 130 km / h, making it a Category 4 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.

But increasing wind shear on the open Atlantic has weakened Florence into a tropical storm.

The storm currently has maximum sustained winds of 70 mph and is moving westward at 6 mph.

The rapid intensification is expected to begin Sunday.

The wind shear will decrease over the weekend, and Florence is expected to return to a significant cyclone intensity (category 3 or higher) early next week – as the storm moves northwest, she is getting closer to the American coast.

It is too early to tell whether the storm will wreak havoc somewhere on the East Coast or whether it will return to the sea safely.

However, there are disturbing signs in the major computer models that meteorologists use to predict hurricane trajectories a week or more in advance.

European and American models have shifted to the west, consistently showing a threatening hurricane dangerously close to the east coast.

Among the forecasting tools, meteorologists have dozens of different models and versions of the forecast tracks, and the majority of them show that the center of Florence remains at sea, but most of them follow it enough to have an impact on the weather. next week.

The governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, declared the state of emergency Friday night, urging residents to use the weekend to prepare for the eventuality of a disaster natural.

"We are entering the peak of the hurricane season and we know the unpredictability and power of these storms," ​​Cooper said.

The governor of South Carolina, Henry McMaster, declared the state of emergency Saturday afternoon. The State Emergency Management Division has also advised residents to start developing emergency plans.

"The risk of other direct impacts associated with Florence along the east coast of the US next week has increased. However, there is still a great deal of uncertainty in Florence's model predictions beyond the day (five), which makes the exact location, magnitude and timing of these impacts too early, "writes specialist Robbie Berg. hurricanes.

Florence is expected to head south from Bermuda early next week but will be close enough to bring high winds and dangerous surf conditions. Big waves will also begin to affect the southeastern coast of the United States, with larger waves and increasingly brutal waves starting this weekend, increasing until next week.

The trajectory of Florence will depend on the development and circulation of many weather systems while the storm is headed by a large pressure ridge in the eastern United States and the North Atlantic as well as by the progression from one trough across the country.

Residents of the east coast may feel reassured about one thing: more than 75 storms occurred within 200 miles of the current location of Florence in the US. Atlantic since the beginning of hurricanes in the 1850s and none touched land.

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