US ‘monster’ hurricane set to strengthen

Image credit: sanibelrealestateguide.com

Right on cue at the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, three major storms are barrelling westwards. So far, the first one looks like being the most powerful. Mandatory evacuations for more than a million people near the US east coast have been declared.

North Carolina’s governor warns the state Florence will be a “life-threatening, historic hurricane”, reports BBC News.

Hurricane Florence – the most powerful storm to threaten the Carolinas in nearly three decades – is expected to strengthen, say forecasters.

Officials warn there is a chance of “life-threatening inundation from rising water” over the next 48 hours as Florence heads for the US East Coast.

With sustained winds of about 130mph (215km/h), the weather system is currently a category four storm. It could make landfall on Thursday, near Wilmington, North Carolina.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper told a news conference on Tuesday: “This storm is a monster. It’s big and it’s vicious.

“It is an extremely dangerous, life-threatening, historic hurricane.”

The latest National Weather Service (NWS) update on Tuesday morning says Florence is expected to “continue a slow strengthening trend for the next day or so”.

It could weaken on Thursday, according to current predictions, but officials cautioned Florence will most probably remain “an extremely dangerous major hurricane through landfall”.

Continued here.