The National Hurricane Center’s 11:00 a.m. advisory places Category 1 Hurricane Dorian about 220 miles (355 kilometers) north-northwest of Puerto Rico and 370 miles (600 kilometers) east of the southeastern Bahamas.
Dorian is presently moving to the northwest at 13 mph (20 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph). The storm’s minimum central pressure is 986 MB…29.12 inches.
The storms general motion is expected to continue through Friday. By Friday night, a shift to a west-northwestward motion is forecast to take place and continue into the weekend. This will put the hurricane over the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean as it moves toward the northwestern Bahamas on Sunday.
By Sunday night and into Monday, Dorian will begin to approach and impact the Southeast U.S., most likely Florida. Keep in mind there is still some uncertainty over the track of Dorian as it begins to impact the Florida coast. Dorian could track further north toward the southeastern Georgia coast and the Carolinas.
Another possible track takes Dorian across the Florida Peninsula and emerging into the Gulf of Mexico and potentially threatening parts of the northern Gulf Coast next week with a second landfall. Regardless of its track, Dorian is an extremely dangerous hurricane.
Furthermore, according to Weather.com, it is increasingly likely Dorian will both intensify and grow in size as it moves toward the southeastern U.S.
#HurricaneDorian is now forecast to be a Category 4 #hurricane when it approaches the east coast of Florida. Since 1900, 8 Category 4-5 hurricanes have made landfall along the east coast of Florida – the most recent was Hurricane Andrew in 1992. pic.twitter.com/LFsDSWRtMY
— Philip Klotzbach (@philklotzbach) August 29, 2019
This weekend and into next week, Dorian is forecast to produce 4 to 8 inches of rainfall along the southeastern United States with isolated amounts of 12 inches. This rainfall could produce life-threatening flash floods.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency on Wednesday afternoon. The declaration opens up resources and funding for local governments and emergency management agencies to go into effect. DeSantis tweeted on Wednesday that everyone on Florida’s east coast “should have 7 days of supplies, prepare their homes & follow the track closely.”
Kennedy Space Center, as well as the state’s major ports and military bases, have also initiated the emergency plans, while several county governments along Florida’s east-central coast started distributing sandbags. The U.S. Coast Guard issued an announcement warning that large ships at the state’s major ports, including the ports of Canaveral, Miami, Tampa, and Manatee, should be prepared to leave if necessary.
