From The Fayetteville Observer.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper called Hurricane Florence a "monster" at a news conference in Raleigh on Tuesday afternoon.

In Fayetteville on Tuesday afternoon, the sun was shining and it was a typical mid-September day in the Cape Fear region. In Wilmington, near where the storm may hit, surfers were seen taking advantage of the the higher waves as Florence churned well out in the Atlantic Ocean.