Florence was downgraded to a tropical storm on Friday after making landfall earlier in the day in North Carolina as a Category 1 hurricane, weather officials said. A person in Lenoir county died while plugging in a generator, according to a news release from North Carolina Gov. With the storm's downgrade, it began thrashing Florence, South Carolina with tropical storm force winds, the NHC said. A storm surge warning was in effect from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina through to Salvo, North Carolina, as well as the Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, the update said. More than 600,000 people had already lost power by 1 p.m. Friday, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety reported.

Source: Fox News September 14, 2018 18:48 UTC