The National Hurricane Center has upgraded Florence not one but twice Monday, saying the storm will continue to strengthen as it targets the Carolinas later this week.

This could be the most devastating hurricane to hit the region in three decades. Swells up to 15 feet could batter the coast and heavy rains could cause flooding inland for days after landfall.

“North Carolina is taking Hurricane Florence, and you should, too,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said, urging residents to prepare for lengthy power outages after the hurricane comes.

The first evacuation order was issued at noon, and Cooper expects more later today and tomorrow.

On Sunday, the hurricane center reported that Florence had reached sustained winds of at least 74 mph to be classified a hurricane.

By Monday morning, the hurricane center classified Florence as a “major” hurricane, Category 3, meaning it was packing sustained winds of at least 111 mph. This has caused forecasters to worry about the flooding that the rains could bring, possibly late Thursday or Friday.

What does this mean for Bowling Green?

If you don’t recall, we were out of school for a day due to the remnants of Hurricane Harvey, which devastated Houston, Texas, hitting town.

While the storm had drastically reduced as it had trekked across the land, the rain had come down hard enough to get us out of school for a day.

If this hurricane is what forecasters believe it to be, then there’s no doubt that the remnants of Florence could reach us.

Expect lots of rain in the near future.