Hurricane Watch Extended Northward as Dorian Nears US Coast
With the Bahamas reeling from the impact of Hurricane Dorian, a broad swath of the southeastern coast has been told to prepare for the worst as the storm began moving closer to the U.S. on Tuesday.
With forecasters’ attention turning to the Carolinas, and perhaps even southeast Virginia, Florida appeared to be spared the direct impact of a storm that devastated the Bahamas, according to a weather.com forecast.
Dorian was a Category 5 hurricane with winds up to 185 mph when it hit the Bahamas. As it inched north Tuesday, it was a Category 2 hurricane with winds up to 110 mph.
However, the National Hurricane Center is urging caution up and down the coast in case the hurricane fails to move as predicted.
“Although the official forecast does not show Dorian making landfall along the Florida east coast, users are reminded not to [focus] on the exact forecast track,” the Hurricane Center said in an advisory. “A relatively small deviation to the left of this track could bring the core of the hurricane near or over the coastline.”
IMPORTANT: The headline for this #Dorian advisory is NOT that the wind speed has slightly decreased. The combined wind, surge, and floods hazards are the same or even worse since the hurricane has become larger. Full advisory: https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/vbtsENgUMt
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 3, 2019
One reason Dorian need not go ashore to cause damage is that the storm is massive. Hurricane force winds now extend about 60 miles from its center. Tropical storm-force winds are ranging 175 miles from Dorian’s eye.
The National Hurricane Center’s Tuesday morning hurricane warnings include parts of the Florida coast, such as Daytona Beach, and extend as far north as Charleston, South Carolina. Storm surge warnings — designed to alert residents to potentially deadly floods — cover the same areas. Warnings mean a hurricane is probable in part of the covered region in the next 36 hours.
Here are the #Dorian Key Messages for Sept 3rd 11 AM EDT: Many new #Hurricane Watches and Warnings have been issued for the Carolinas with multiple threats expected across the southeastern United States. More: https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/LepqRE983a
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 3, 2019
Hurricane and storm surge watches — which mean a hurricane could strike within 48 hours — are posted from the Florida coast through North Carolina, including Charleston, South Carolina, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, and Wilmington, North Carolina.
Those projections are accompanied by evacuation orders.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered residents in all or parts of 12 counties to flee, according to weather.com.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp ordered evacuations in parts of six counties, CNN reported. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has posted evacuation orders for all or parts of eight counties.
If Dorian sticks to the script, a piece of northeastern Florida, Georgia and southern South Carolina will face Dorian on Wednesday. On Thursday, the storm is expected to take aim at North Carolina, with the rain spawned by the hurricane to produce possible flooding in the Virginia Tidewater.
By Friday, the projections are in the realm of educated guesses, but warn that the Jersey Shore, Long Island, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod could all be slapped by the storm, with the degree of impact uncertain.
Water laps up against windows of Bahamian minister’s home after devastating flooding from Hurricane Dorian pic.twitter.com/MlVTOkS9cH
— The Independent (@Independent) September 3, 2019
The projections do not take into account the storm’s most recent behavior, in which it stalled over Grand Bahama Island for over 36 hours, The Washington Post reported.
“This is unprecedented,” said Jeff Masters, meteorology director at Weather Underground, according to CBS. “We’ve never had a Category 5 stall for so long in the Atlantic hurricane record.”
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