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Hundreds of fights canceled ahead of Florence
CHARLOTTE, NC (FOX 46 WJZY) – Hundreds of flights have been canceled as Hurricane Florence makes its approach to coasts of North Carolina and South Carolina.
More than 140 flight cancellations were reported Charlotte-Douglas International Airport Thursday, according to Flight Aware. There were 81 cancellations out of Myrtle Beach and 45 out of Wilmington.
Delta Airlines announced 150 flights were canceled due to Florence. Southwest Airlines put out a travel advisory for flights out of several airports, including Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, Charleston, and Greenville-Spartanburg.
Florence’s winds had dropped from a peak of 140 mph (225 kph) to 105 mph (165 kph) by midmorning, reducing the hurricane from a Category 4 to a Category 2. But forecasters warned that the widening storm — and its likelihood of lingering around the coast day after day — will bring seawater surging onto land and torrential downpours.
LINK: Hurricane Resource Center
Forecasters said Florence’s eye could come ashore early Friday around the North Carolina-South Carolina line. Then it is likely to hover along the coast Saturday, pushing up to 13 feet (nearly 4 meters) of storm surge and unloading water on both states.