Hurricane Florence, threatening the US southeastern coast, has strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane, the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a press release on Monday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th September, 2018) Hurricane Florence, threatening the US southeastern coast, has strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane, the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a press release on Monday.
"Satellite data indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 115 mph (185 km/h) with higher gusts - a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Further strengthening is anticipated, and Florence is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane through Thursday," the NWS said.
As of 11 a.m. EDT (3 p.m. GMT), Hurricane Florence was located about 1,240 miles (2,000 kilometers) east-southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina, moving west at 13 mph (20 km/h), the NWS added.
"On the forecast track, the center of Florence will move over the southwestern Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda and the Bahamas Tuesday and Wednesday and approach the coast of South Carolina or North Carolina on Thursday," the release said.
The NWS warns of life-threating storm surges, freshwater flooding, heavy rainfall in the Carolinas and mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
The US states of North Carolina and South Carolina have already declared a state of emergency due to the threat posed by Hurricane Florence.
