Hurricane Florence hit the East Coast on Friday, September 14. When Florence made landfall in Wilmington, NC, it came on as strong category 4 hurricane with 150 mile winds.

Florence next hit the Carolinas first then make its way up the East Coast to Virginia. Florence is skirting Maryland and will cause more rain and flooding as it heads back out to the Atlantic sea.

There were many different paths this incoming monster could take. After hitting South Carolina and Georgia there were three general paths it could take. The first path swings back around to hit Maryland and Virginia. The other path hits the Carolinas then heads farther north passing Maryland and Virginia. The last possible  path travels inland to Tennessee then heads up north.

Due to the incoming threat, South Carolina’s governor had set a mandatory evacuation. While some parts of North Carolina and Virginia also have evacuation or dangerous weather warnings. Maryland’s Governor, Larry Hogan, had declared a state of emergency.

In a poll of the students at Oakdale, most people do not seem worried about the incoming hurricane and believed it would not majorly affect Maryland. Students seemed most concerned about the effects of rain on various sporting events. Sophomore Hayley Ross told, “[She was] very worried about rain affecting the cross country meet in Virginia this weekend.”

Sophomore Marty Houston, a sophomore at Oakdale, explained that he was not concerned about the effects on Maryland, but he was “worried for his friends safety at ECU.”

When interviewed, students were most interested about the prospect of a day off school. Hurricanes bring with them strong winds and torrential downpours. Therefore there is a possibility for a day off of school.  Some seemed skeptical, but Sophomore Aubrey Linthicum inferred that since “We had a day off of school last year because of high winds, we might get a day off.”

The incoming hurricane does pose a significant threat to the East Coast. Therefore families in it’s path should be aware of the effects the storm will have on their lives.

Outside sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/11/us/hurricane-florence-south-east-coast-wxc/index.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hurricane-florence-evacuation-latest-path-track-north-carolina-forecast-live-updates-2018-09-12/

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/11/us/hurricane-florence-updates.html

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/12/us/hurricane-florence-south-east-coast-wxc/index.html