New Hurricane Dorian Update Issued as Florida Braces for Landfall

A new Hurricane Dorian update has been issued, coming in just as Florida is bracing for the major storm to make landfall. At 8 a.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center reported that Dorian had reached the Grand Bahama Islands, and was a little over 100 miles away from West Palm Beach, Florida. At that time, the storm’s winds were clocking in close to 200 miles per hour.

“Dorian is moving very slowly toward the west near 1 mph (2 km/h). A slow westward to west-northwestward motion is forecast during the next day or so, followed by a gradual turn toward the northwest and north. On this track, the core of extremely dangerous Hurricane Dorian will continue to pound Grand Bahama Island through much of today and tonight,” the organization stated.

The NHC then went on to advise, “The hurricane will then move dangerously close to the Florida east coast late tonight through Wednesday evening and then move dangerously close to the Georgia and South Carolina coasts on Wednesday night and Thursday.”

“Dorian is an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Although gradual weakening is forecast, Dorian is expected to remain a powerful hurricane during the next couple of days,” the NHC also said.

Regarding the storm surge that Hurricane Dorian was expected to cause, the NHC said, “A life-threatening storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 18 to 23 feet above normal tide levels in areas of onshore winds on Grand Bahama Island. Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves. Water levels should very slowly subside on the Abaco Islands during the day.”

“The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline,” they added.

“Large swells are affecting east-facing shores of the Bahamas and the Florida east coast, and will spread northward along the southeastern United States coast during the next few days. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” the NHC also said. “Please consult products from your local weather office.”