Forecast highlights:
- Winds will begin to pick up around the Charlotte area Friday, ahead of Florence
- Some of the outer rain bands from the hurricane could arrive in the metro area by Friday evening
- Until those rain bands arrive, conditions will be very dry, with highs in the mid-80s
- Florence’s intensity remains consistent, still a Category 1 hurricane as it approaches the coast
- Eyewall began lashing the coast near Wilmington around 5:30 a.m.
- Florence officially made landfall at 7:15 a.m. on Wrightsville Beach as a Category 1 hurricane with wind speeds of 90 mph
- Florence will slow down after landfall, so it’ll stay along the coast with part of the storm staying over water for a long time. That means it’ll take a long time to de-intensify. That also means storm surge continues to be a major risk as water continues to pile up along the coast.
- After Friday, the system will move quickly toward Charlotte, but will weaken more quickly as well
- When it arrives in the metro area it will be a tropical storm or depression and will bring torrential rains to the area all weekend
- By Monday, the storm will veer north and we'll be in recovery mode
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