Hurricane Florence could bring 24 hours of hurricane conditions to Carolinas

Hurricane Florence could batter parts of coastal North and South Carolina with hurricane conditions for 24 hours or more and bring up to 40 inches of rain in its center, federal emergency officials said Wednesday.

The Category 4 storm is forecast to bring 15-25 inches of rain in some areas, with up to 40 inches of rainfall near its exact center, FEMA's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration liaison Steve Goldstein said at a news conference.

The storm was expected to make landfall late Thursday or Friday in coastal North Carolina and then potentially stall churning its way slowly down the coast, he said.

“This could mean that parts of North and South Carolina near the coast will experience hurricane-force winds and hurricane conditions for 24 hours or more,” he said.

A large area of North Carolina was forecast to get 10 inches of rain or more Friday into Saturday.

Federal officials said about 1.7 million people in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia have been warned to evacuate ahead of the hurricane.

Florence was expected to strengthen over the next 24 hours and then slow down as it makes its way toward the southeast coast and it was possible it may not make official landfall until early Saturday, according to NBC News meteorologist Erin McGarry.

The hurricane was headed for the southeast coast and is expected to being life-threatening storm surge and rainfall to parts of the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic states, according to the National Hurricane Center.

As of Wednesday morning, the storm was about 485 miles southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, with maximum-sustained winds at 130 mph, according to the hurricane center. It was moving west-northwest at 15 mph.

Hurricane and storm surge warnings were in effect for South Santee River, South Carolina, to Duck, North Carolina, and Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. A hurricane watch was in effect for Edisto Beach, South Carolina, to South Santee River, South Carolina, and a storm surge watch was in effect for Edisto Beach, South Carolina, to South Santee River and north of Duck, North Carolina to the North Carolina-Virginia border.