• CLOSINGS

    418 closings/delays reported, including Durham, Orange, and Wake public schools. View all

  • WEATHER

    36 NC counties are under alert, including Cumberland, Johnston, Wayne, Harnett, and Wilson counties. Details
HURRICANES

Live Florence updates: Storm track shifts south, will still make landfall in Wilmington

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Posted 4:35 a.m. yesterday
Updated 10:39 a.m. today
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RALEIGH, N.C. — Residents are being urged to prepare for Hurricane Florence, a major storm expected to make landfall on the East Coast along a wide swath that ranges from the Carolinas to Virginia.

Latest updates

11 p.m.: The 11 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center shows that Florence's track has shifted to the south. The latest model shows the storm would still make landfall in Wilmington as a major hurricane on Friday night, but would then move into South Carolina.
"If this path holds, there would be lesser impacts for parts of our viewing area," WRAL meteorologist Mike Maze said.
Wrightsville beach and surrounding areas could still see the brunt of the storm surge on the current path, WRAL Chief Meteorologist Greg Fishel said.
The current path diminishes the chance for catastrophic rains in Raleigh and the Triangle, but could still have significant impact on the southern North Carolina counties.
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Fishel said the storm is expected to slow down once it reaches the coast, but is currently moving at 17 mph with winds of 140 mph.
9:25 p.m.: Wake Technical Community College said all classes will be canceled as of 2 p.m. Wednesday and the school will remain closed through at least Saturday.
8:40 p.m.: Chatham County has joined the list of school districts that have canceled class on Thursday and Friday.
7:12 p.m.: Orange County schools and Franklin County Schools have announced classes will be canceled Thursday and Friday as a result of Hurricane Florence.
5:30 p.m.: Johnston County public schools have announced that they are closing two hours early on Wednesday and will remain closed through Friday.
Hurricane Florence 5P update
5 p.m.: The National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane warning for a wide swath of the North Carolina coastline as Florence gets closer to the Carolinas.
3:40 p.m. Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools have announced that they will be closed Thursday and Friday. Full list: Closings & Delays
2:45 p.m. Durham County public schools announced that public schools will close three hours early on Thursday and remain closed on Friday. Full list: Closings & Delays
2:24 p.m. Wake County public schools have announced that they are dismissing two-and-a-half hours early Thursday and will be closed Friday.
Hurricane Florence Grows to Category 4, Headed for Carolinas
2:14 p.m: Several countries around North Carolina have activated shelters and are ordering evacuations. You can find County-by-county storm information on WRAL.com for updated info.
1:55 p.m.: North Carolina State University State is moving to Reduced Operations and additionally canceling classes beginning noon on Wednesday.
12:32 p.m.: Gov. Roy Cooper issues the first state evacuation order in memory in North Carolina, telling people on the state's barrier islands to leave ahead of the hurricane.
Tropical Watches and warnings
"This storm is a monster. It's big, and it's vicious," Cooper said. "Even if you've ridden out storms before, this one is different. Don't bet your life on riding out a monster."
The governor also urged inland residents to continue preparing for Florence, noting that forecasts call for the system to stall over the state and drench it for days.
"We cannot expect this storm to blow over in a matter of hours," he said, adding that rain in some areas will be measured in feet instead of inches.
The state Department of Transportation already has hundreds of trucks and chain saws mobilized to clear downed trees from roads so utility crews and relief supplies can get to affected areas.
11:38 am: Cumberland County public schools announced that they are closing three hours early Wednesday and closed for the rest of the week. (NOTE: We earlier reported in error that schools were closing early Tuesday.)
11 am: The latest update from the NHC shows a slightly weaker Hurricane Florence. The storm is now classified as Category 4 hurricane, with 130 mph winds. The storm is expected to come ashore somewhere along the Carolinas as a major Category 3 storm..
10:30 am: Water and nonperishable food on grocery shelves around the Triangle are becoming scarce.
10:15 am: Mandatory evacuations are in place for Beaufort, Dare, Pamlico, Tyrrell Beaches (Atlantic, Indian, Emerald Isle, Pine Knoll Shores, Ocracoke, Carolina, Kure, Wrightsville, Topsail, Currituck Outer Banks, Oak Island and Holden) in advance of Hurricane Florence. On Tuesday, WRAL made phone calls to several hotels in the Triangle to find that they are filling up quickly.
10 am: Duke University joins the list of schools that have canceled classes later this week. N.C. State, UNC and N.C. Central have also canceled classes. Monitor our updated list of closings.
9:45 am: "We have time to get ready for this," said an official from the Red Cross. "Make your emergency kit and write down critical phone numbers."
9:30 am: "Take action now" to prepare for Hurricane Florence, FEMA officials announced in a 9:30 a.m. press conference. FEMA officials also urged residents to heed evacuation and shelter warnings from state and local officials. "We can rebuild infrastructure, we can rebuild homes, but we can not replace lives," an officials said.
9 am: Gov. Roy Cooper is scheduled to tour the FEMA staging area at Fort Bragg's Simmons Army Airfield at 2:30 p.m. in advance of Hurricane Florence's landfall.
8:45 am: The latest update on Hurricane Florence from the National Hurricane Center won't arrive until 11 a.m., but a new advisory at 8 a.m. showed a drop in the storm's wind speed from 140 mph to 130 mph. According to Gardner, the storm is likely to re-organize and strengthen over the next 24 hours. It will probably be Category 4 at landfall.
8:30 am: We should expect heavy rain from Hurricane Florence in the Triangle all weekend, says Gardner. According to Gardner, a high pressure system will stop the storm and stall it in some location and continue to dump heavy rain.
8 am: Gardner says to not pay too much attention to the red line in the forecast cone, as the center of Hurricane Florence could hit anywhere from Hatteras to Myrtle Beach. "Everyone at the coast needs to prepare, including our viewing area, because we may see some very heavy rain and strong winds," said Gardner.
7:30 am: Florence will most likely move inland, dropping heavy rain. 48 hours out, meteorologists will know more. By Thursday evening or Friday morning, there will be a 60 percent chance for hurricane force winds in the Triangle.
Winds from Florence
7 am: Hurricane Florence did not intensify overnight, but Gardner said it could strengthen by Wednesday with winds of 150 mph. Although Florence is not expected to become a Category 5, which would mean winds 156 mph or greater, it could get close to that. The hurricane should weaken slightly before making landfall.
6:30 am: WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said it's still too early to know which areas of central North Carolina will see the most wind damage and flooding. Strong winds are expected to start in Raleigh Thursday evening through Friday morning, while they should start Thursday morning for the coast. Some areas could see catastrophic flooding, some will not. It is still too early to tell.
6 am: Storm surge, or the rising of the ocean as a result of the wind associated with a storm, is a big concern with Florence at the North Carolina coast. Gardner said we could see a storm surge of 6 to 12 feet from Wilmington to Cape Lookout this week.
5:30 am: A tropical storm watch is in effect for Cumberland, Edgecombe, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Sampson, Wayne and Wilson counties, meaning tropical storm force winds are possible within the next 48 hours.
5:15 am: Florence was located about 975 miles southeast of Cape Fear and was moving northwest at 15 mph. A hurricane watch and storm surge watch have been issued for the entire coast of North Carolina.
5 am: The latest update from the National Hurricane Center shows little change in Florence's path. The storm remains a dangerous Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph.
Hurricane categories
4 am: WRAL is expecting to receive word of more closings today and tomorrow. The list below will be updated constantly.

Closures

  • North Carolina State University will suspend all operations, including canceling classes, from 5 p.m. Wednesday through 5 p.m. Sunday because of the storm. Residence halls and dining facilities will remain open.
  • Officials with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have canceled classes beginning Tuesday at 5 p.m. to allow students to travel home. Residence halls will remain open for students who live on campus and are not able to travel, officials said.
  • Officials at East Carolina University tweeted Monday that classes starting after 12 p.m. Tuesday were canceled for the rest of the week.
  • The University of North Carolina at Pembroke will be canceling classes and scheduled activities beginning at 8 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Officials said, "We strongly encourage students to leave campus when your classes end on Tuesday."

Evacuations

  • Topsail Beach has declared a state of emergency as of 9 a.m. Monday and called for voluntary evacuations as of noon. Town officials said in a written statement that mandatory evacuations could be put in place if needed.
  • South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has ordered an evacuation of the state's entire coastline, starting at noon Tuesday due to Hurricane Florence.
  • New Hanover County Emergency Management is recommending a voluntary evacuation for all of New Hanover County, including Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, Wrightsville Beach and the City of Wilmington. But by Monday night, officials with Kure Beach ordered a mandatory evacuation by 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
  • Evacuation ordered in Carteret County starting at 12 p.m. on Tuesday

The big picture for NC

Florence will likely hit land as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday evening before weakening again. "We expect Florence to, at the most, have winds top out at 150 mph," said Gardner. "That's not far from being a Category 5 hurricane, which has winds of 157 mph or higher."
Wind gust potential
If Florence continues on its projected path, it will make landfall along the coast late Thursday. The Triangle shouldn't see major effects of Florence, like strong winds and rains, until overnight Thursday, but it is still too early to know the storm's timeline for sure.
"The closer we get to Thursday and Friday, the better idea we'll have," said Gardner.
As the storm gets closer to the center of the state, it should weaken to Category 1, but the effects could still be devastating for the Triangle.
Rain and strong winds are the biggest threats from Florence, Garner said. Power outages, downed trees and a risk for catastrophic flooding are all potential issues in the Triangle.
Florence's strength this close to the coast is concerning. In the 1950s, Hurricane Hazel made history as the only Category 4 storm to make landfall in North Carolina, and there's a chance Florence could follow its example.
“We haven’t seen anything like that approaching the coast, assuming this is close to being correct, since Hazel,” WRAL Chief Meteorologist Greg Fishel said. "This is certainly going to make a stronger approach, in terms of wind speeds the way it looks now, than Fran did."
Gardner said for this reason, forecasters will watch Florence very closely.
Most forecast models show Wilmington and North Carolina right in the middle of the storm's path, but Gardner said we shouldn't take the red line in the center of the path too seriously.
"The storm could hit anywhere in the cone of uncertainty, as far north as the Outer Banks and as far south as Charleston, South Carolina," she said. "The storm is almost double the size of the state of North Carolina."
Gardner said the storm will move more slowly once it reaches land, which unfortunately produces more rain.
"If it moves quickly, it brings stronger winds," said Gardner. "Neither is good."

Timeline for central North Carolina

Tropical storm force winds (above 39 mph) could begin in North Carolina by Thursday evening if the storms continues on its current path. Up to a foot of rain is likely for central North Carolina from Florence, and Gardner said some areas in the hurricane's cone could see up to 20 inches at worst.
Winds
While late week flooding is a major concern for central North Carolina, eastern portions of the state could see devastating impacts early next week as small rivers begin to flood.
In the Triangle, Gardner cautions that we could see trees through homes, flooded roads and countless power outages.
By the time Florence reaches the Triangle, it will be a Category 1 or 2 storm, but wind damage and flooding could still be devastating.

Cooper: 'We want residents to be ready'

President Donald Trump has approved North Carolina's Emergency Declaration. In a statement Monday night, the administration says the president's actions "authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts."
Dare County issued a mandatory evacuation for visitors and residents Monday ahead of the storm.
On Friday, Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency, making it possible to waive the state's transportation rules so North Carolina farmers can harvest and transport their crops to market faster.
Cooper said that many North Carolina farmers lost a significant number of crops when Hurricane Matthew hit in 2016, so the state of emergency gave them time to prepare before the storm arrives.
"We did it a little earlier than we normally would have because so many crops were in the field," Cooper said Sunday in exclusive interview with WRAL News.
On Monday, he asked President Donald Trump to issue a disaster declaration for the state, which he said would allow relief supplies to flow into the state as soon as possible after the storm passes.
The state of emergency also put North Carolina's price-gouging law into effect. Attorney General Josh Stein asked businesses and residents to be on the lookout for anyone charging excessive prices for needed goods before, during and after the storm.
Storm kit
As many in North Carolina still struggle to recover from Hurricane Matthew, Cooper said lessons learned during that storm are helping officials be better prepared when Florence arrives later this week.
"We learned about flood modeling and we were able to compare different flood scenarios with the different paths [the storm] might take, so we can predict where flooding might occur and we can deploy our resources," he said.
Hurricane and flags
Cooper said the decision to put evacuation orders in place will be left up to local officials, who best know their communities and residents, but predicted that evacuation orders will likely be issued along the coast in the coming days.
"I would imagine if this storm continues its intensity and its track, we're going to have evacuations on the North Carolina coast," Cooper said.
Cooper said officials will hold a briefing on storm preparations at 11 a.m. Monday, but urged residents on Sunday to familiarize themselves with evacuation routes and have a plan for pets if the storm hits.
"We want to hope and pray for the best, but we have to prepare for the worst," he said. "We're ready here in North Carolina, our emergency responders are on the ready and we want residents to be ready as well."

Effects on NC coast

Florence is already causing rough surf and rip currents along the North Carolina coast, and parts of the Carolina coast could begin feeling significant impacts from the storm as early as Wednesday night. Residents in North Carolina and other East Coast states should pay attention to the storm and begin to think about hurricane plans.
UNCW issued a voluntary evacuation for students effective Monday. University officials said that students are encouraged, but not required, to leave campus and all classes will be canceled.
Twelve water rescues were made Saturday and another 15 were necessary at Wrightsville Beach on Sunday as a result of rip currents caused by Florence.
WRAL Weather App
Sunday evening, red flags were up to warn people to stay out of the water, but many surfers were still seen trying to catch a wave.
The biggest threats include flooding and damaging winds.

Residents stock up before the storm

As Hurricane Florence gets closer to North Carolina, Raleigh residents spent their Sunday afternoon stocking up on supplies.
Store owners said the two biggest sellers have been gas and bottled water, with shelves bare in many stores across the Triangle.
"Just in case I might have to make a quick getaway, I have a full tank of gas and I'm ready," Raleigh resident Tony Johnson said.
Empty bottled water shelves 9-9-18
Johnson is not taking any chances with Hurricane Florence and was one of many getting gas and groceries on Sunday.
"I got a lot of canned vegetables, some that you don't have to cook on the stove, and I got a lot of water and a lot of bread," Johnson said. "I got candles, I got flashlights, I got tons of gallons of water. Yeah, I'm ready."
Though weakened to a tropical storm, Florence was expected to regain hurricane strength as it neared Bermuda. Large swells were already expected to hit the British island territory in the north Atlantic Ocean Saturday.