ORLANDO, Fla. _ Hurricane Florence, predicted to hit the Carolinas later this week, is now a Category 4 storm, the National Hurricane Center said, as it continued to monitor two other hurricanes _ Isaac and Helene _ and a tropical wave in the northwestern Caribbean Sea.
Florence continued "growing in size and strength" Monday and will move through the southwestern Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda and the Bahamas Tuesday and Wednesday before approaching the coast of South Carolina or North Carolina on Thursday, the hurricane center said in its 5 p.m. EDT advisory.
Florence is located about 525 miles south-southeast of Bermuda and 1,170 miles east-southeast of Cape Fear, N.C. It is packing maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and is moving to the west-northwest at 13 mph.
"Further strengthening is anticipated, and Florence is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane through Thursday," the hurricane center said.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster ordered evacuations of about 1 million people along coastal counties. There are also evacuations in North Carolina. Residents in southeastern and mid-Atlantic states are encouraged to monitor the hurricane's progress.
Florence will also cause swells in Bermuda and parts of the U.S. East Coast, which are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Meanwhile, Isaac is about 1,090 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. It has maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and is moving to the west at 14 mph. Isaac is expected to move across the Lesser Antilles and into the eastern Caribbean Sea on Thursday.
"Some strengthening is expected over the next day or two," the hurricane center said. "Weakening is forecast to begin by the middle of the week as Isaac approaches the Lesser Antilles.''
As for Helene, it is about 475 miles west of the southernmost Cabo Verde Islands and has maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. It is moving to the west-northwest at 14 mph. It is expected to stay out in the Atlantic.
The hurricane center said that Helene is "strengthening quickly over the tropical Atlantic" and forecast to be a major hurricane by Monday night but "steady weakening" is expected by late Tuesday.
And finally, a tropical wave and an upper-level trough in the northwestern Caribbean Sea has a 50 percent chance of developing into at least a tropical depression in the next five days. Chances of development are expected to increase when the system moves across the western Gulf of Mexico, beginning Wednesday.
