-Hurricane Florence came ashore this morning near Wrightsville Beach and has weakened a tad. The Nat. Hurricane Center says, "Additional slow weakening is expected today as the center of Florence moves farther inland, with more rapid weakening forecast over the weekend as Florence moves westward across South Carolina. The new NHC intensity forecast is a little lower than the previous advisory." The storm is forecast for a "slow westward motion for the next 36-48 hours across South Carolina." (See graphic)
Rainfall, now upon us, is expected to total 3-4 inches this afternoon, another 4 inches—or more—tonight, and 3-4 inches tomorrow. 1-2 inches is possible Sunday. Winds are forecast for 38 mph with gusts to 52 this afternoon (slightly higher in Fayetteville, slightly lower in Moore County), with a gradual decline beginning around midnight.
High wind gust recorded at The News-Journal so far, 37 mph. Rainfall at noon .4 inch
-There are now about 240 people in Hoke County without power, and that number is expected to rise later today as the strongest winds arrive and more debris takes down power lines. The larger outages are in or near Raeford for the most part, with one in the Timberland area and then scattered outages throughout the eastern part of Hoke, according to Duke Energy and LREMC's outage maps.
A call came in over our police scanner a few minutes ago reporting a downed power line on East Donaldson Avenue, knocking out power to additional residents in that area.
A reminder from county officials: do not call 911 if your power goes out. Call your power company to report the outage. 911 cannot get your power back on.
Duke Energy: 800-419-6356 | Lumbee River EMC: 800-683-5571
-Most stores, businesses and offices are shut down today. There is debris on some roadways and driving should be considered hazardous at this point.
-For help with storm related questions or other information, call the automated information line at (910) 848-4645 or to speak with a staff member, call (910) 848-4646.
Hoke County Emergency Management Director Bryan Marley warned citizens that during the storm, the emergency operations center (EOC) team will do their best to help people with questions but that they expect a high call volume.
-Shelters are open, see www.readyhoke.org/shelters for details. Officials are urging residents to take shelter now.
-We'll keep you updated as events warrant and around 5 p.m. today.
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