Hurricane Florence Slamming North Carolina Coast

• Hurricane Florence weakened slightly to a strong Category 1 storm late Thursday and had 90 mph sustained winds early Friday, the National Hurricane Center said
• Life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds were occurring along the North Carolina coast as of 6 a.m. Friday, the center said
• "Catastrophic" freshwater flooding is expected over portions of the Carolinas, the center added
• Florence's eye was "about to make landfall near Wilmington, N.C.," the hurricane center said; it was some 10 miles east of Wilmington, North Carolina and 80 miles east-northeast of Morehead City, North Carolina, and moving west at 6 mph
• Florence's eyewall was already onshore over North Carolina and the eye's center was expected to make landfall "very soon"
• The center says, "A turn toward the west at a slow forward speed is expected today, followed by a slow west-southwestward motion tonight and Saturday. On the forecast track, the center of Florence is expected to move inland across extreme southeastern North Carolina and extreme eastern South Carolina Friday and Saturday"
• Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 90 miles from Florence's center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 195 miles, the NHC said
• Nearly 1,500 flights have been canceled through Saturday
• Duke Energy in the Carolinas anticipates 1-to-3 million homes and businesses losing power
• 1.7 million people are under mandatory and voluntary evacuations orders, and more than 10 million people live in places under storm watches or warnings

Hurricane Florence already has inundated coastal streets with ocean water and left tens of thousands without power, and forecasters say conditions will only worsen as the hulking storm slogs inland.

Screaming winds bent trees toward the ground and raindrops flew sideways as Florence's leading edge whipped the Carolina coast Thursday to begin an onslaught that could last for days, leaving a wide area under water from both heavy downpours and rising seas.

The storm's intensity diminished as it neared land, with winds dropping to around 90 mph by nightfall. But that, combined with the storm's slowing forward movement and heavy rains, had Gov. Roy Cooper warning of an impending disaster.

CBS News

"The worst of the storm is not yet here but these are early warnings of the days to come," he said. "Surviving this storm will be a test of endurance, teamwork, common sense and patience."

Cooper requested additional federal disaster assistance in anticipation of what his office called "historic major damage" across the state.

More than 80,000 people were already without power as the storm began buffeting the coast, and more than 12,000 were in shelters. Another 400 people were in shelters in Virginia, where forecasts were less dire.Prisoners were affected, too. North Carolina corrections officials said more than 3,000 people were relocated from adult prisons and juvenile centers in the path of Florence, and more than 300 county prisoners were transferred to state facilities.

Officials said some 1.7 million people in the Carolinas and Virginia were warned to evacuate, but it's unclear how many did. The homes of about 10 million were under watches or warnings for the hurricane or tropical storm conditions.

Spanish moss waved in the trees as the winds picked up in Wilmington, and floating docks bounced atop swells at Morehead City. Ocean water flowed between homes and on to streets on the Outer Banks; waves crashed against wooden fishing piers.

Coastal towns in the Carolinas were largely empty, and schools and businesses closed as far south as Georgia.

Hurricane Florence watches, warnings & evacuations

A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for:

• South Santee River South Carolina to Duck, North Carolina
• Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, including the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers

A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for

• Edisto Beach, South Carolina to South Santee River, South Carolina

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for:

• South Santee River, South Carolina to Duck, North Carolina
• Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for:

• Edisto Beach, South Carolina to South Santee River, South Carolina

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for:

• North of Duck, North Carolina to Cape Charles Light, Virginia
• Chesapeake Bay south of New Point Comfort
• Edisto Beach, South Carolina to South Santee River, South Carolina

Hurricane Florence affecting flights & car travel

Airlines canceled about 1,200 flights and counting. As of Thursday afternoon, total cancellations within, into or out of the U.S. was 603 for the day, while 650 flights were canceled for Friday, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware.

CBS News correspondent David Begnaud reported this week that people living in the barrier island community of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, were bracing for a possible direct impact. Long lines formed at service stations, and some started running out of gas as far west as Raleigh, with bright yellow bags, signs or rags placed over the pumps to show they were out of order. Some store shelves were picked clean.

"There's no water. There's no juices. There's no canned goods," Kristin Harrington said as she shopped at a Wal-Mart in Wilmington.

South Carolina said it is planning to end the reversal of some interstate lanes that were switched to help move people away from the state's coast. Department of Public Safety Director Leroy Smith told reporters that, starting Thursday at 6 p.m., officers will close Interstate 26 lanes that had been switched from eastbound to westbound to move people away from the Charleston area toward the center of the state.

Many officers are on the road during lane reversals, manning each exit and ensuring drivers don't drive around barricades. The change allows agencies like Smith's to pull back their officers when tropical storm-force winds are expected to arrive in the state.

Power outages along the coast

Power outages in North Carolina have increased as a weakened and slower Hurricane Florence moves closer to the coast. The two major electric utilities covering the state -- Duke Energy and Dominion -- and a consortium of electric cooperatives reported more than 80,000 customers without power as of early Thursday evening. That doesn't include numbers from dozens of city-operated electricity providers.

Almost two-thirds of the reported outages originated in Carteret County, along the coast about 100 miles (161 kilometers) northeast of Wilmington, North Carolina. There were also several thousand outages each in Craven, Pamlico and Onslow counties.

The numbers are expected to soar as the storm's winds and torrential rains sweep over more land. Duke anticipates 1 million to 3 million of their 4 million customers in the Carolinas will lose power from Florence.

Hurricane Florence could inflict the hardest hurricane punch North Carolina has seen in more than 60 years. In 1954, the state was hit by a Category 4 storm, Hurricane Hazel.

"Hazel stands as a benchmark storm in North Carolina's history," said Jay Barnes, author of books on the hurricane histories of both North Carolina and Florida. "We had a tremendous amount of destruction all across the state."