What is Hurricane Florence?
{{Infobox hurricane | Name=Hurricane Florence | Basin=Atl | Year=2018 | Type=Hurricane | Image location=Florence 2018-09-11 1750Z.jpg | Image name=Hurricane Florence at peak intensity south of [[Bermuda]] on September 11 | Formed={{start date|August 31, 2018}} | Dissipated={{end date|September 18, 2018}} | Extratropical=September 17 | 1-min winds=130 | Pressure=937 | Fatalities=24 direct, 30 indirect | Damagespre= | Damages=24230 | Areas=[[West Africa]], [[Cape Verde]], [[Bermuda]], [[East Coast of the United States]] <small>(especially the [[The Carolinas|Carolinas]])</small>, [[Atlantic Canada]] | Hurricane season=[[2018 Atlantic hurricane season]] }} [[File:Hurricane Florence.svg|thumb]] '''Hurricane Florence''' was a major [[tropical cyclone]], powerful and Cape Verde hurricane in the Atlantic that caused severe and extensive damage in the Carolinas in September [[2018]]. The storm threatened the [[East Coast of the United States]] with major and catastrophic flooding, especially in the Carolinas. The sixth named storm, the third hurricane, and the first major hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season. Florence first came off from [[Africa]] as a [[tropical wave]] on August 30, 2018. On August 31, the tropical wave became a tropical depression. It became Tropical Storm Florence on September 1, 2018. The storm strengthened to a major hurricane on September 5, and then strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane with estimated maximum sustained winds of 130 mph later that day. The state [[Governor|Governors]] of [[North Carolina]], [[South Carolina]] and [[Virginia]] declared a [[state of emergency]] for each state. It was becoming evident that the hurricane might strike South or North Carolina as a major hurricane.<ref>{{cite report|title=SC Preps for Possibility of a Large-Scale Disaster as Florence Grows into Hurricane|publisher=The State|url=https://www.thestate.com/latest-news/article218089090.html|access-date=September 9, 2018}}</ref> Florence later weakened to a strong tropical storm. However, the s