CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Hurricane Florence is now a Category 2 storm and is "rapidly strengthening" as it heads toward the Carolinas coast with "exceptionally heavy rain," the National Hurricane Center said Monday morning.
Some areas of eastern North Carolina could see as much as 12 inches of rain, with Raleigh seeing as much as 9 inches, says the National Weather Service.
The slow-moving storm's winds were at 105 mph early Monday. A Category 2 hurricane has winds between 96 and 110 mph, the hurricane center said.
NOAA's latest "probable" models see the center of the storm at the North Carolina coast at 2 a.m. Friday and in central North Carolina at 2 a.m. Saturday.
That track shows the center of the storm continuing inland to Raleigh and Greensboro.
Once the storm makes landfall, it will "sit over the Carolinas for some time," according to WSOC meteorologist John Ahrens. "This will likely be a big problem not just Thursday but potentially through the entire weekend. Some computer models keep the storm just offshore though, which would lessen the local impact."
Florence is moving west about 9 mph, according to an update from the National Hurricane Center. Its winds are extending out from the center up to 25 miles, causing "tropical-storm-force winds" up to 125 miles out, the NHC said.
The first of the gusts could arrive in North Carolina at 8 p.m. Wednesday, the center said.
Hurricane Florence, which is more than 1,500 miles off the coast, is expected to become a Category 3 on Monday and a Category 4 on Tuesday, according to WBTV meteorologist Al Conklin. Once it makes landfall, NOAA is predicting "life threatening impacts," including a steady downpour.
Governors in North and South Carolina have already declared states of emergency in advance of the storm, which is already creating dangerous conditions in waters off the coast. The National Weather Service reported Sunday that more than 20 people had to be pulled from the ocean off Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach, said the Wilmington Star.
Among those taking early action as the storm nears is the University of North Carolina Wilmington, which canceled classes and issued a "voluntary evacuation" over the weekend, according to the Wilmington Star.
The NC Ferry Division announced Sunday that is was canceling some ferries to Hatteras and Ocracoke islands "due to preparation for possible severe weather."
A Category 4 hurricane would have sustained winds of 130-156 mph, the National Hurricane Center says. In such winds, downed trees and power outages are common, and well-built homes can suffer heavy damage, the center says.
"There is an increasing risk of coastal storm surge flooding and freshwater flooding from heavy prolonged rain when the hurricane approaches the U.S.," said a NOAA tweet.
"While it is too soon to determine the exact timing, location and magnitude of these impacts, interest at the coast and inland from South Carolina into the mid-Atlantic region should closely monitor the progress of Florence," said a NOAA statement.
The storm will increase in size and the wind field will affect a large section of coastline. The storm surge and waves will arrive ahead of time.
