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The latest forecast models for Hurricane Florence indicate it is now likely to dump rain on parts of New York and Connecticut early next week.
A powerful high-pressure ridge is expected to keep Florence south through the weekend after its expected landfall Friday morning in the Myrtle Beach/Wilmington areas of South and North Carolina.
The latest forecast by the National Hurricane Center for rainfall from Florence predicts between 1 and 4 inches for New York and Connecticut. (See image above.)
Any remaining strong winds still remaining when the remnants of Florence reach the Northeast early next week should mainly affect western New York. (See the latest forecast path and timing in the second image above from the National Hurricane Center.)
Florence, a Category 2 hurricane, has a wind speed of 105 miles per hour with gusts of 125 mph late Thursday afternoon.
It is expected to bring massive amounts of rain, devastating flooding gale-force winds that could knock out power for weeks.
While the storm's winds have weakened since Wednesday, making it now a Category 2 storm, its range has grown and its damaging effects are now expected to be felt far inland beyond North Carolina and South Carolina, which will be hit hardest.
Some areas in the Myrtle Beach/Wilmington area could see as much as 40 inches of rain with storm surges between 9 and 13 feet, overwhelming many beachfront areas and low-lying islands.
As many as three million people are expected to lose power.
On the forecast track, the center of Florence will move near or over the coast of southern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina Thursday night and Friday. A slow motion over eastern South Carolina is forecast Friday night through Saturday night.
After making landfall in the lower Outer Banks of North Carolina, the storm is expected to make a shift to the left toward South Carolina before trekking west and then north. Earlier this week, it had been projected to shift north after making landfall.
More than 1.5 million people have been ordered to evacuate along 300 miles of coastline.
This continues to be a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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