Weather

Damaging winds, flooding rain and strong storm surge from Hurricane Florence are expected to blast the coasts of eastern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina on Friday. Heavy rain and flooding will affect parts of southern Virginia, while above-normal tides may cause minor coastal flooding as far north as Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey.

Bands of rain and thunderstorms from the fringe of the storm are projected to develop farther west over the Carolinas. The system is expected to move slowly enough to produce up to several feet of rain and possible record inland flooding in the Carolinas into the weekend and beyond.

Spotty showers and thunderstorms, unrelated to the hurricane, are expected over the Mid-Atlantic and the central Appalachians. Much of New England will be dry. A tropical system will move through central and coastal Texas and coastal Louisiana. The system may become a tropical depression or storm.

Much of the rest of the United States can expect dry weather and at least partial sunshine. Still, spotty thunderstorms will affect South Florida and Minnesota along with a few showers across northern Washington. The wildfire danger may increase from the Rockies to the Pacific Coast.

FOCUS: Flood Risk Next Week in the Northeast

Tropical moisture from Hurricane Florence is expected to spread north into the Middle Atlantic and the Ohio Valley early next week and into the Northeast by the midweek. Rainfall may be heavy enough to cause flash flooding.