by Donald Wood
Last updated: 11:48 AM ET, Mon September 10, 2018
Update: September 10, 2018 at 4:05 p.m. ET
The National Hurricane Center said Monday that Hurricane Florence is now a Category 4 storm and continuing to intensify. The hurricane is registering maximum sustained winds near 130 miles per hour.
According to NPR.org, forecasters expect Florence to reach maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour over the next 36 hours. In terms of size, the hurricane measures around 500 miles wide, which will result in a massive landfall area when it is expected to hit Thursday and Friday.
Gizmodo provided an incredible image on Twitter of Hurricane Florence from space:
Original Text
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced Hurricane Florence continued to strengthen Monday morning, with experts claiming the storm will likely impact Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the United States this week.
According to Reuters.com, the Category 2 hurricane was packing maximum sustained winds of 105 miles per hour and is expected to become a major hurricane as it moves toward the East Coast of the U.S.
Hurricane Florence was traveling over warm Atlantic waters and gaining energy as it moved 625 miles southeast of Bermuda Monday. The storm is expected to pass between Bermuda and the Bahamas on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Meteorologists are forecasting that Florence will continue to pick up speed before making its landfall between South Carolina and North Carolina on Thursday as a category 3 or higher hurricane.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster warned residents to prepare for possible evacuations and he even called on President Donald Trump to declare a federal emergency in the state to prepare for the impact of the storm. Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina have all declared states of emergency.
As for travelers, Southwest Airlines also announced it will waive change fees for passengers flying to or from impacted airports such as Charlotte, Richmond and Raleigh/Durham between September 12-16.
Delta Air Lines also issued a notice that it was keeping an eye on the storm and would begin issuing waivers when Hurricane Florence's path became clearer.
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