How dangerous is Hurricane Florence?
Huge storm nears Category 5 strength as it bears down on US coast

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Millions of people are facing mandatory evacuation orders after Hurricane Florence was upgraded to a Category 4 storm and remained on track to strike the east coast of the US.
“Not only has the storm exploded in intensity, but its zone of hurricane-force winds approximately doubled in size Monday,” the Washington Post reports.
Where will Hurricane Florence arrive?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Residents along the coast of South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland are preparing for the storm’s arrival, which is predicted for Thursday. All of those states have declared a state of emergency.
“This is a real hurricane we have coming,” South Carolina governor Henry McMaster said Monday. “We don't want to risk one South Carolina life.”
How dangerous could it be?
The National Hurricane Centre (NHC) warned that the storm was forecast to stall over the Carolinas once it reaches shore, lashing the surrounding area with winds up to 240 kilometres per hour, and dumping up to 600mm of rain.
“None of the guidance suggest that Florence has peaked in intensity, and this is supported by a continuation of a low-shear environment, and even warmer waters over he next 36 hours,” the NHC said.
“The storm’s potential path also includes half a dozen nuclear power plants, pits holding coal-ash and other industrial waste, and numerous eastern hog farms that store animal waste in massive open-air lagoons,” CBS News says.
Two other hurricanes are following in the wake of Florence. Hurricane Isaac and Hurricane Helene are also tracking across the Atlantic Ocean, however they are not expected to make landfall in the US.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Sen. Bob Menendez charged with federal corruption, bribery
The longtime New Jersey Democrat finds himself in another round of legal peril
By Rafi Schwartz Published
-
Taking steps
Cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will the US keep aiding Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Republicans give Volodymyr Zelenskyy a 'cold shoulder' in D.C.
By Joel Mathis Published
-
Shell’s North Sea oil U-turn: ‘a first victory in a longer war’?
Speed Read Controversy after oil giant pulls out of proposed Cambo project
By The Week Staff Published
-
Fires, floods and storms: America’s ‘permanent emergency’ has begun
Speed Read This summer of climate horror feels like the ‘first, vertiginous 15 minutes of a disaster movie’, says The New York Times
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Hot air and empty rhetoric: is the UK acting too slowly on climate change?
Speed Read ‘Every day, new evidence accumulates that humanity is on an unsustainable path’
By The Week Staff Published
-
Germany floods: what led to this ‘once-in-a-century’ disaster?
Speed Read Nearly 200 people died in Germany and Belgium; hundreds are still unaccounted for
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Total ban on imports of rubbish to China piles pressure on Asian neighbours
Speed Read Veto on accepting overseas junk marks culmination of three-year reduction policy
By Joe Evans Last updated
-
Penguin colony at risk as Somerset-sized iceberg bears down on British overseas territory
Speed Read Several species face starvation if the icy giant blocks access to feeding grounds
By Aaron Drapkin Published
-
‘Full of hot air’: climate experts exposed as academia’s most frequent flyers
Speed Read Study results trigger calls for environmentalists to ‘look in the mirror’
By Chas Newkey-Burden Last updated
-
Mystery of millions of migrating birds dropping dead from US skies
Speed Read Some experts believe the West Coast wildfires may be to blame for ‘unprecedented’ mass bird deaths in New Mexico
By The Week Staff Last updated