Jasper Man With Family in South Carolina Keeping Close Eye on Florence Forecast

MID-ATLANTIC -- Florence, a major category 4 hurricane, is set to make landfall Friday along the Carolina Coast. 

"It's worrisome," says Zach Ragsdale.  He lives in Jasper but he has family out along the North Carolina / South Carolina boarder.  "They're talking about damaging winds.  On the coast around Myrtle Beach I've heard [they could get] winds about 119 mph."

And with forecasters using words like catastrophic and life threatening, Ragsdale tells WITZ he’s watching the forecast carefully.

"I spoke to my dad on Sunday and, strangely enough, he's going to just [treat it] like a regular day and see what happens there."

Officials in North and South Carolina and Virginia are urging residents along the coast to get out before the storm hits.

That part of the country hasn’t seen a hurricane THIS powerful since Hazel back in 1954.