Hurricane Florence weakens slightly as it moves toward U.S. coast: NHC

(Reuters) - Hurricane Florence is weakening slightly as it continues toward the Carolina coastal areas, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Wednesday, adding that life-threatening storm surge and rainfall were still expected. Florence, a Category 3 hurricane, was about 370 miles (595 km) east-southeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour (185 km per hour), the Miami, Florida-based weather forecaster said. The center of Florence will move over the southwestern Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda and the Bahamas Wednesday night, and approach the coast of North Carolina or South Carolina in the hurricane warning area on Thursday and Friday, NHC said. (Reporting by Swati Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)