Florence now a major hurricane, aims for US Southeast

Florence rapidly intensified into a fearsome category 3 hurricane on Monday and could strike a direct and dangerous blow to the Carolinas later this week, possibly as a category 4, forecasters said. The first impacts were already being seen on barrier islands as dangerous rip currents and seawater flowing over a coastal road.

A hurricane hunter plane found Florence strengthening quickly after it became a hurricane on Sunday. By 11 a.m. EDT on Monday, Florence became a major hurricane, with top sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph). It was centered about 1,240 miles (2,000 kilometers) east-southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina, and moving west at 13 mph (20 kph).