Hurricane Florence latest update: Where is Florence now? Has it hit Bermuda?

Hurricane Florence is churning towards Bermuda and was expected to intensify on Friday, the National Hurricane Center said on Thursday.

Florence was located about 975 miles (1,570km) east-southeast of Bermuda and was packing maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour (110km/h).

Swells will start to affect Bermuda on Friday and will reach portions of the US east coast over the weekend, the NHC said.

The sustained winds have decreased from 130mph on Wednesday when Florence was classified as a Category 4 hurricane.

The NHC said: “Swells generated by Florence will begin to affect Bermuda on Friday and will reach portions of the US east coast over the weekend.

“These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.”

The agency has not yet issued any coastal warnings or watches as of their 11pm advisory.

Wind shear over the open Atlantic has weakened Florence to a Category 1 storm.

However wind shear will lessen over the weekend so Florence should regain its intensity to a Category 3 or greater hurricane by early next week.

It is still too early to understand what track Florence will follow from next week, the hurricane center said on Thursday afternoon.

There is a possibility the hurricane could make landfall somewhere on the east coast, or turn back to sea and dissipate out.

“Regardless of Florence’s eventual track, large swells emanating from the hurricane will reach Bermuda beginning on Friday and portions of the US east coast this weekend, resulting in life-threatening surf and rip currents,” the center added.

Florence was east of the Bahamas on Friday morning and moving toward the west-northwest at 7mph (11km/h).

A slow westward motion is expected over the weekend, with a possible turn toward the west-northwest on Sunday.

There are various models and versions of the forecast track of Florence and the majority show Florence staying away from the east coast but most track it close enough to cause some impact next week.

Florence is still almost 1,800 miles from the east coast.

Most storms in the region of Florence tend to curve away from the United States - more than 75 storms have passed within 200 miles of Florence’s current location and not a single one made landfall.

The hurricane season hits its peak on Monday and the NHC is tracking several other tropical waves in the eastern Atlantic, which could develop into tropical storms.

Two other storms could form in the Atlantic and either could threaten North America by the middle of September.

The two next named storms would be Helene and Isaac.

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