Hurricane Joaquin exhibiting signs of intensifying further

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urricane Joaquin remained a 130 mile-per-hour Category 4 storm as of the National Hurricane Center's 5 p.m. ET update, though it is exhibiting signs of intensifying further.

Mashable Australia.

Importantly, the forecast track has shifted about 150 miles further offshore, lowering the probability of a direct hit along the East Coast and raising the risk of a direct hit for the Canadian Maritimes, and possibly even Bermuda as well.

"We are becoming optimistic that the Carolinas and the mid-Atlantic states will avoid the direct effects from Joaquin," the NHC wrote in its 5 p.m. forecast discussion. "However, we cannot yet completely rule out direct impacts along on the east coast, and residents there should continue to follow the progress of Joaquin over the next couple of days."

While the more offshore track will bring a sense of relief to millions along the East Coast, dangerous, high-impact weather is still on tap for this region as a plume of tropical moisture converges along a frontal zone to potentially deliver more than a foot of rain across portions of the Carolinas. South Carolina in particular appears likely to see potentially record-shattering rains through the weekend.

Read the Mashable story - “Hurricane Joaquin: What you should know about the high-stakes forecast”.