Keeping the regional sea surface temperature anomaly regimes such as the super warmth off the East U.S. Coast influence on Florence in mind, emerging SSTA patterns in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans are signs of historic Australian drought ahead.

Unusually warm waters off the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast U.S. and attendant sea level rise helped Florence produce unusually extreme rainfall and an immense storm surge.

Florence is moving inland this morning in the Wilmington, NC area while much of the storm remains offshore today therefore sustaining hurricane conditions well into Friday night.

The Category 4 Hurricane Florence forecast track toward the North Carolina coast is straight-forward. However, what happens after Florence reaches the North Carolina coast is more uncertain. Evolution of a new tropical cyclone striking Texas late Friday and the influence on a new subtropical ridge over the Midwest U.S. could cause Florence to slow down and possibly shift southwestward this weekend.