NEW YORK(TIP): Hurricane Florence, with tropical storm-force winds hundreds of miles wide, began pounding the Carolina coastline on Thursday, September 13 night as officials made last-minute pleas for residents to evacuate.

Hurricane-force winds are moving across portions of the North Carolina coast, and water levels were rising along parts of the coastline. The threat of tornadoes increases as Florence moves closer, with landfall expected Friday, September 14 morning.

The storm surge is expected to worsen late Thursday and into early Friday during high tide in the Atlantic Ocean.

Though the storm, once a Category 4, was downgraded Thursday night to a Category 1 from a Category 2, the danger is very real. Parts of North Carolina may see as much as 40 inches of rain and storm surges could be as high as 13 feet.

“Flooding and the storm surge — those are the two main things that kill people, and this storm is not letting up,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Thursday.

The storm will churn very slowly Friday and Saturday, extending the damaging winds and huge amounts of rain that will hit the same areas of North and South Carolina for 24 hours.

High winds and floodwaters could knock power out for several days, if not longer, officials said. Almost 160,000 customers already were without power in North Carolina Thursday evening — and that number is likely to rise.

For those in an evacuation area, “there is still time to get out,” Cooper said Thursday. “Don’t risk your life riding out a monster storm.”

“You’re potentially risking the life of a first responder who would try to come and help you, and we don’t need that,” he added. “I know it’s difficult to move, and I know that you are leaving things behind that you don’t want to leave behind, but no possession is worth your life.”

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster added: “Time is running out. Now is the time to go because that window of opportunity is closing on you very quickly.”