WILMINGTON, N.C. (KXAN) — Hurricane Florence made landfall over North Carolina Friday morning as a Category 1 storm. Despite dropping in wind intensity over the past few days, it still could bring devastating flooding to the area.
A Category 1 hurricane has maximum sustained wind speeds of 74 to 95 miles per hour. As of 6 a.m. Friday, Florence had a wind speed of 90 mph, which, according to the National Hurricane Center, are still enough to damage roofs, shingles, siding and gutters. Tree branches can snap and trees can topple, and there can be extensive damage to power lines and poles.
However, the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (where we get categories 1-5) only measures wind. In Florence's case, the storm is huge, which increases the effect.