Hurricane Florence Grows To Category 4, Barrels Toward East Coast

Hurricane Florence has transformed into a Category 4 hurricane as it barrels toward our East Coast. The latest updates from the National Weather Service indicated that high pressure in the Northeast will push the storm toward the Carolinas, but New England will still feel its indirect impact.

Forecasters are expecting strong rip currents and a high surf later this week across the New England coast. A Massachusetts couple died last month in a rip current off Hampton Beach.

While the storm could be a problem to some in New England, it is posing an intense threat to the Mid-Atlantic. Residents of the South Carolina shoreline will be ordered to evacuate Tuesday.

Florence had maximum sustained winds of almost 130 mile per hour as of Monday afternoon. It's expected to reach the Carolinas between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

"The rough surf and seas can occur hundreds of miles away from the path of the storm," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.

Unrelated rain will hit Southern New England Monday night. The NWS said the rain is expected to be light to moderate, but there could be some pockets of heavy rain.

Image via National Hurricane Center