Even though Hurricane Florence has dropped to a Category 3 with sustained winds at 125 miles per hour, she’s still a major hurricane. As WHQR’s Rachel Lewis Hilburn reports, the storm now looks like it might pass just south of Bald Head Island.
But that’s not a reason to take the potentially catastrophic impacts less seriously. The afternoon update shows her shifting a little south, traveling at about 16 miles per hour, and then slowing before she makes landfall. Jordan Baker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, says there is still uncertainty about her track, and whichever way she goes, it’s not good for southeastern North Carolina.
"The one thing we have confidence in are the impacts are going to be significant. This is a very large storm. No matter where you are, this is a very large storm. For our area, for the Cape Fear area, the forecast track shifting a little bit will make it either significant – or significantly worse."
Tropical storm force winds and rain are now projected to appear in southeastern North Carolina about 8 AM tomorrow. But Baker stresses that Florence could speed up, shift a little north, or further south.
Officials still strongly recommend coastal interests are battened down and buttoned up by Wednesday night.
