Hurricane Florence is moving slowly inland over extreme Southeastern North Carolina.  Life-threatening storm surges and hurricane-force wind gusts continue.  Catastrophic freshwater flooding expected over portions of North and South Carolina.

As of 2pm, the center of Florence is about 35 miles west/southwest of Wilmington, NC.  It has maximum sustained winds of 75 mph with wind gusts up to 100 mph.  Florence is moving to the west at 5 mph.  The pressure is at 968 mb.

High risk for rip currents all along coastal areas with increasing surf.  Everyone is advised to stay out of the water at area beaches.

There are no watches or warnings related to Florence for our area. However, up in the Charleston area, a Hurricane Watch, Tropical Storm Warning, and Storm Surge Watch remain in effect.

Even though Florence has made landfall, it is a slow-moving storm. Hurricane force winds, heavy rain, and life-threatening storm surge will continue along coastal Carolinas today.

Locally, the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry are not in the cone of uncertainty. However, some rain and mainly sub-tropical storm force wind gusts will be possible this weekend.

Florence will track west-southwestward to near Myrtle Beach by Saturday morning, weakening to a tropical storm, then track well to our north in South Carolina. The storm is expected to continue to weaken by Sunday to a tropical depression.

Weekend Impacts:

Saturday: Northwest winds 15-20 mph, gusting as high as 30-35 mph, especially in the Lowcountry. A few rain bands possible, but not a washout day.

Sunday: Still breezy, but not quite as windy. Periods of rain, totaling 1-2″ north of I-16, with 1/2″-1″ possible south of I-16.

Dangerous rip currents continue into the weekend for all area beaches!

Stay tuned to WSAV on-air and online for the latest.

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