President Donald Trump falsely claimed that Hurricane Dorian will hit Alabama, and the National Weather Service called out his comments. In a tweet, Trump stated, “In addition to Florida – South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, will most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated. Looking like one of the largest hurricanes ever. Already category 5. BE CAREFUL! GOD BLESS EVERYONE!” This was certainly a surprise to many, as there had not been any reports indicating that Alabama would be impacted by Hurricane Dorian. This prompted the Birmingham, Alabama chapter of the NWS to issue a statement explaining that the state is not expected to be hit by Dorian, as the storm will be “too far east.”
However, Trump’s assessment of the other states is accurate. Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia will all be hit with some heavy rainfall and strong winds.
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Notably, Dorian was initially expected to hit the U.S. as a Category 5 hurricane, but it was recently downgraded to a Category 4.
Alabama will NOT see any impacts from #Dorian. We repeat, no impacts from Hurricane #Dorian will be felt across Alabama. The system will remain too far east. #alwx
โ NWS Birmingham (@NWSBirmingham) September 1, 2019
Most recently, Dorian made landfall in the Bahamas, and has been hitting the islands there very hard.
Residents are being urged to stay indoors while the powerful storm rages.
Here’s the 12 pm EDT Tropical Cyclone Update: #Dorian still battering Grand Bahama Island. Residents there should not venture out into the eye as winds will rapidly increase on the other side https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB pic.twitter.com/UvEtEPkZAb
โ National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 2, 2019
Additionally, the National Hurricane Center has issued a warning regarding what U.S. residents can expect as far as the storm surging.
“The Storm Surge Warning has been extended northward along the east coast of Florida to the Flagler/Volusia County Line,” the organization stated in a tweet. “The Storm Surge Watch has been extended northward along the Georgia coast to the Savannah River.”
NEW: The Hurricane Warning along the east coast of Florida has been extended northward to the Flagler/Volusia County Line. The Hurricane Watch has been extended northward to Altamaha Sound, Georgia. Full advisory on #Dorian is at: https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB pic.twitter.com/at3bCDs6OQ
โ National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 2, 2019
At 8 a.m. ET, Dorian was around 100 miles away from the Florida coast. Currently, weather experts are projecting that Dorian will make landfall in Florida sometime on Tuesday.
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