Weather

Reports from Santee Cooper indicated that as of 3:30 p.m. Friday, some 38,900 Santee Cooper retail customers were without power due to early impacts from Hurricane Florence. Earlier in the afternoon outages peaked at 39,200, and crews were able to restore about 9,000 customers today before the outages increased again.

On the transmission side, three lines were locked out, impacting customers of Santee Cooper, Horry Electric Cooperative and Santee Electric Cooperative.

Hurricane Florence has slowed and is now crawling to the west at 6 mph. Life-threatening storm surge, inland flooding, and wind damage are imminent along the coast of North Carolina from Wilmington to the Outer Banks and stretching to northern portions of South Carolina through the day on Friday. Florence is forecast to move southwest along the coastline before turning to the northeast on Sunday.

As Hurricane Florence slams North Carolina, the riverfront city of New Bern is already feeling the impacts. Emergency crews are attempting to respond to more than a hundred calls for rescues.

Amber Parker, spokesperson for Craven County, North Carolina, tells Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson that officials are happy to have daylight on their side Friday.

Updated at 1:50 p.m. ET

In the days leading up to the arrival of Hurricane Florence, North Carolina's governor offered a series of dire warnings.

"Even if you've ridden out storms before, this one is different," Gov. Roy Cooper said.

As Hurricane Florence made landfall, it appeared many North Carolinians had listened.

Just hours before hurricane Florence slammed into North Carolina, Dallas Cone and his nearly 1 year-old daughter Hannah sat in the sand on Sullivan’s Island just outside of Charleston enjoying the cool breeze and growing waves.  He admitted his family was poised to leave, but changed their mind at the very last minute.

“We did board up yesterday expecting the worst,” he said.  “But I think it’s going to be north of us right now.”

Updated at 4:30 p.m. ET

More than 100 people were waiting to be rescued from homes and vehicles Friday morning in New Bern, N.C., after Hurricane Florence brought severe flooding to the area. Officials say more than 100 people have already been rescued in the area overnight.

Six swift water rescue teams have been working since Thursday afternoon to evacuate individuals and families, in some cases, from the roofs of their homes, the New Bern Public Information Officer Colleen Roberts said Friday afternoon.

Updated at 5:20 a.m. ET Saturday

Tropical Storm Florence is still a slow-moving giant that poses danger to people in North and South Carolina, as its storm surge and intense rains bring high floodwaters to towns both on the coast and inland.

The storm has been linked to at least five deaths, a toll that is expected to climb.

Hurricane Florence is now only moving at 5 mph.  This will prolong the risks of life-threatening storm surge and wind damage, which are imminent along the coast of North Carolina from Wilmington to the Outer Banks.  

The first tornado warned cell associated with outer bands of Florence moved through portions of the Inner Banks of North Carolina just after 11 am, with two more following shortly thereafter. Tornadoes are still possible across eastern North Carolina through Friday, where a Tornado Watch is in effect until further notice.

The South Carolina Emergency Response Team continues to track Hurricane Florence and remains fully dedicated to preparing for the storm's potential impact on South Carolina. Forecasters say that Florence is currently a Category 2 hurricane with the capacity to bring record amounts of rain to South Carolina. The State Emergency Operations Center is fully operational, staffed by emergency personnel from various state agencies and emergency organizations. The SEOC will be operational 24 hours a day until further notice.

Santee Cooper will have approximately 130 line and tree crews –roughly four times the number during normal conditions - working to restore outages on its system caused by Hurricane Florence, including more than 70 mutual aid and contract crews coming from Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana and Missouri.

Updated at 10:35 p.m. ET

Storm surges of 9 to 13 feet and rainfall up to 40 inches: Those are two of the most dire warnings about Hurricane Florence's effect on parts of North and South Carolina. Thousands have heeded evacuation orders; others are hoping to cope with the storm in their homes or at local shelters.

Updated at 6:40 a.m. ET on Friday

Hurricane Florence was making landfall on the North Carolina coast, bringing with it life-threatening storm surge, heavy rain and sustained winds of 90 miles per hour. Although downgraded to a Category 1 storm, the hurricane has grown larger and slowed its march inland — factors likely to contribute to potentially catastrophic flooding.

Many seaports and airports along the southeastern U.S. coastline have been shut down, more than 1,000 flights have been canceled, and some highways and bridges in low-lying coastal areas could close soon, as Hurricane Florence gets closer to making landfall.

Authorities in coastal areas that lie in the path of the massive storm are urging residents one last time to evacuate.