NOAA Doppler weather radar data and surface observations indicate that the center of Hurricane Florence has turned back toward west. An erratic motion between westward and west-southwestward is likely today. The hurricane is centered as of 12 p.m. EDT about 25 miles (45 km) west-southwest of Wilmington, N. Carolina, and about 45 miles (75 km) east-northeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Maximum sustained winds are 80 mph (130 km/h)
During the past hour, a station operated by Weatherflow at Federal Point, North Carolina, reported a sustained wind of 56 mph (90 km/h) and a gust to 72 mph (116 km/h), a sustained wind of 53 mph (85 km/h) and a gust to 72 mph (116 km/h) was observed at Mercer Pier in Wrightsville Beach, and a sustained wind of 51 mph (82 km/h) and a gust to 75 mph (121 km/h) was measured at the Wilmington offshore buoy. In addition, an Amateur Radio operator in Oak Island near Cape Fear, North Carolina, recently reported a sustained wind of 68 mph (109 km/h) and a gust to 87 mph (140 km/h).
Some Hurricane Florence heavy rainfall reports received thus far --
18.53 inches Oriental, NC
14.07 inches Surf City, NC
13.81 inches WFO Morehead City, NC
13.07 inches Jacksonville, NC
