Monster Florence aiming for the East Coast

Hurricane Florence is a major system with winds of  140 mph, as of the Monday night advisory.

Everyone along the Mid Atlantic States should be getting ready.

Major Hurricane Florence

Earlier Monday afternoon, the eye of Florence measured roughly 10 miles wide. A category 4 system churning in the Western Atlantic. You can see the tube heading down into the surface. That is the eye wall, where you find the strongest winds and heaviest of the rain. It's a ring of destruction that will pummel whichever area it runs into.

Florence's Vital Statistics

The area where you will find tropical storm force winds from 39 to 73 mph, extends out from the center 150 miles.

 The area where you will find hurricane force winds from 74 to 140 mph, extends out from the center 40 miles.

 The system itself is 450 miles around.

Where is Florence Headed?

The system will aim for the Carolinas as a category 4 with the potential to get a little stronger before landfall. Notice the bulge at the end of the cone. That suggests it may stall across the region dumping plenty of rain.

Spaghetti Models

They actually show the system doing loop de loops along the coast, blocked by a dome of high pressure and cold front. This will keep the threat of torrential rains in place for days.

 

Some areas could see as much as two feet of rain which will lead to flooding, land and mudslides.

More Activity in the Tropics

 We are also following:

• Isaac downgraded to a Tropical Storm
• Hurricane Helene
• A tropical wave in the Caribbean
• And a potential are of low pressure in the Northern Atlantic

Isaac will steer toward the Lesser Antilles. The small size of this system is making it difficult to forecast its intensity. It could get a little stronger and just as easy weaken. The Lesser Antilles need to monitor.

Hurricane Helene will move north and may eventually impact the Azores with gusty winds and squally weather.

In the Western Caribbean a tropical wave is meandering. It should move into the Gulf of Mexico where it will have a 60% chance for development in the area highlighted.

Then in the Northern Atlantic, nothing is there now, but NHC says that an area of low pressure may form over 5 days. That has a 50% chance for development.

We'll be monitoring.