Forecast models show the storm slowing to a crawl off the North Carolina coast late on Thursday or Friday and make a southern turn.
The National Hurricane Centre said it was a potentially catastrophic Category-4 storm, but was expected to keep drawing energy from the warm water and intensify to near Category 5, which means winds of 157 miles per hour or higher. The storm is now about 950 miles from the Carolina coast line, but moving in that direction at about 15 mph.
Speaking in the Oval Office alongside Trump, FEMA administrator Brock Long said Florence may be a "very devastating storm". The power is going to be off for weeks. "You can replace your property, but you cannot replace you".
WCNC-TV meteorologist Brad Panovich told WFAE Morning Edition host Marshall Terry that the shift of Florence means more rain for the Charlotte area. "This is not going to be a glancing blow", Byard explained. I believe that was a Category 1 storm when it hit Charlotte.
Hurricane conditions will likely hit on Friday, but tropical storm conditions will arrive on Thursday, according to the hurricane center.
Even with a slightly revised southward track, Hurricane Florence still poses a significant threat to central North Carolina and Alamance County.
Forecasts showed the storm lingering near the coast of the Carolinas, carrying days of heavy rains that could bring intense inland flooding from SC to Virginia.
The state of North Carolina is preparing for a major storm. "Everyone was sold out", she said.
"This will be a storm that creates and causes massive damage to our country".
When asked in a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Sheriff P.J. Tanner said the school district must first evaluate how many teachers and staff evacuated ahead of the order. And he had advice for coastal residents. Winds from the east have been causing coastal flooding this week along the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, with high tides as much as 2 feet above normal in Anne Arundel, Calvert and St. Mary's counties. "It is an extremely, dangerous, life-threatening, historic hurricane", North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said.
Some 38cm (15in) to 64cm (25in) of rain is forecast in some areas - with up to one metre (40in) at the centre of the storm. As it turns into southern SC. Tropical Storm Isaac was east of the Lesser Antilles and expected to pass south of Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and Cuba, while Hurricane Helene was moving northward away from land.