The track of Florence continues to go south but her impacts will expand well out form the storm. Florence is over 530 miles wide and 345 miles long. If you put that in perspective we could actually fit the entire state Maryland inside the storm since the state is 90 miles wide and 250 miles long. Some pretty scary stats right there as Florence looks to unleash life threatening impacts along the North and South Carolina coasts.
Even with the storm trending further south we are still likely to see some minimal impacts especially in our southern communities and down along the Maryland beaches due to the large magnitude of the storm.
Those impacts include tropical storm force wind gusts down at the beaches along with coastal/inland bay flooding. Rainfall should be minimized but one or two instances of flash flooding cannot be ruled out with some of the outer bands of Florence and the saturated ground below.
Baltimore/Central Maryland Impacts:
Once again the impacts look to be minimal for our immediate area. Winds will gusts upwards of 15-30 mph with the highest gusts Friday into Saturday before things start to taper late Sunday into Monday. Rainfall amounts will be 1-2" from Thursday night-Sunday with the bulk of the rain in any thunderstorm activity Friday as the ridge keeps us relatively dry for the weekend. Minor bay flooding is likely with higher tides Friday night into Saturday then again Saturday night into Sunday.
Ocean City/Maryland Beaches Impacts:
Winds are likely to gusts upwards of 30 mph with a few tropical storm force gusts over 40 mph late Friday into Saturday then again Saturday afternoon. Dangerous boating conditions with high rip current concerns. If you are at the beach avoid the water at all costs. Rainfall amounts around 1-2" with the coastal flooding likely (Storm Surge 1-3 ft). Beach erosion will also be a problem as waves slam the coastline. An isolated waterspout cannot be ruled out with any of the storms in the outer bands late Friday into Saturday.
Western Maryland Impacts:
Passing showers with winds gusting 10-20 mph. Rainfall amounts 1-2" from Thursday night through Sunday. Filtered breaks of sunshine are also likely with eventual remnants early next week.
We don't see catastrophic impacts like what was once modeled earlier in the week. Where Florence stalls and meanders will ultimately impact what we see here on the home front. Continue to check back with us for updates over the next few days.
