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Hurricane Florence Threatens US East Coast

Weather officials are predicting a powerful storm in the Atlantic Ocean will hit America’s southeastern coast later this week.

Hurricane Florence, a Category 4 storm, is expected to make landfall in North or South Carolina late Thursday or early Friday. Officials have said the hurricane could further strengthen as it continues to move toward land.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper called it a “dangerous, life-threatening, historic hurricane.” National Hurricane Center Director Ken¹ Graham added, “This one really scares me.”

More than a million people living in the storm’s predicted path have been ordered to leave the area. U.S. President Donald Trump² has already signed declarations of emergency for both North Carolina and South Carolina.

States of emergency have also been declared by governors in both Carolinas, as well as Virginia and Maryland.

It is rare for such a powerful storm to hit this part of the U.S. southeast. The last time it happened was when Hurricane Hugo struck South Carolina as a Category 4 storm in 1989. The last storm to hit North Carolina was Hurricane Hazel in 1954.

Several large hurricanes have struck areas further south, including Florida. That state has had at least five hurricanes of Category 4 or stronger during the past 100 years. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew caused widespread damage in Florida as well as neighboring Louisiana.

Hurricane Katrina was a deadly hurricane that hit the U.S. Gulf³ Coast in 2005, causing widespread damage in Louisiana. The most recent Category 4 in the U.S. was Hurricane Harvey, a deadly storm that struck Houston, Texas.

Harvey was especially severe because of the massive flooding it caused. Weather systems had kept the storm over one area much longer than most hurricanes, resulting in huge amounts of rain.

Weather experts have predicted Hurricane Florence could also produce massive rainfall if it remains⁴ over one area for a long time.

Bermuda High effect

Jeff Weber is an atmospheric⁵ scientist with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Boulder⁶, Colorado. He spoke⁷ to VOA about the current storm.

“I know the people in the Carolinas are no stranger to tropical storms. But this is certainly going to be one of the larger - if not one of the largest - to make impact along their coastline.”

Climate patterns related to high and low pressure systems are what push large storms in certain directions.

Weber says Hurricane Florence is being affected⁸ by something called the Bermuda High. This is a high pressure system sitting over the Atlantic territory of Bermuda. It normally keeps storms moving in the direction of Florida or the Gulf Coast.

But this time is different.

“Currently the Bermuda High is a little bit farther north and a little bit farther east, allowing the storm to kind of come into the mid-Atlantic or the Carolina coast.”

Weber says in addition to the Bermuda High, another high pressure system is expected to keep Florence from quickly heading back out to sea. This is why the storm is predicted to stay in one spot and drop heavy rain, as Hurricane Harvey did.

“It's going to be kind of stuck and pinned up against the coast for two to three days. Some of the forecasts have as much as 36 inches of rain falling in parts of North Carolina.”

Weber says this kind of stuck storm can stay strong and keep drawing water in from the ocean and dropping it in the form or rain. If this happens, major flooding can affect large areas in several states.

“I would have concerns if I was anywhere near North Carolina, southern Virginia or even the Chesapeake Bay. Even Maryland and Delaware will be, I think, strongly impacted.”

Some weather experts believe there is a link between such severe storms and climate change. But Weber says there is not enough current evidence to make a clear case.

“What we do see is we are into a warmer environment where we have warmer atmospheres and warmer oceans that gives the the potential for these storms to become more powerful, because that's exactly what they use for their fuel.”

Weber says Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Florence may be demonstrating that this new kind of storm will happen again and again, causing more severe flooding over much larger areas.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

Category 4 – n. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 1 to 5 rating based on a hurricane's sustained wind speed?

forecast – n. prediction about what is expected to happen

stall – v. to stop making progress

impact – n. the effect a person, event, or situation has on someone or something

pinned – adj. held firmly in a certain position so as not to be able to move

pattern – n. particular way that something is often done or repeated

potential – adj. having or showing the capacity to become or develop into something in the future.

1 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

6 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。