Florence Will Flirt With Category 5 Strength
- Hurricane will probably lose some strength as it comes ashore
- Last Category 5 storm to hit U.S. was Andrew in 1992
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Hurricane Florence is expected to flirt with Category 5 strength as it approaches the U.S. East Coast this week, falling just short of the level seen by Floridians in 1992 when Hurricane Andrew devastated the state.
Florence’s winds are forecast to reach 155 miles (249 kilometers) per hour by Tuesday evening, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in a 5 p.m. New York time bulletin. That’s just below the 157 mph threshold needed to reach Category 5 strength, the most powerful on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale,