Hurricane Florence from the International Space Station on Monday. (NASA via AP)
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Law schools in North and South Carolina canceled classes Tuesday in advance of Hurricane Florence, which was churning toward the coast as a Category 4 storm.

The Charleston School of Law, which is located within South Carolina's mandatory evacuation zone, has called off classes and closed campus for the remainder of the week, and plans to reopen on Monday. Further inland in Columbia, the University of South Carolina School of Law canceled classes Tuesday but as of midday Tuesday had yet to announce how long the campus will remain closed.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster on Sunday ordered an evacuation of the state's coastline, with schools and other government services closing Tuesday. Florence's projected path has since moved north, with landfall expected near Wilmington, North Carolina, Thursday evening. But the early closures are intended to spur residents to leave coastal areas.