Hurricane Dorian: See the Storm’s Eye in Incredible Footage as It Nears Bahamas

The National Hurricane Center published a high-resolution image of the eye of Hurricane Dorian on Saturday, revealing the chaotic mass that will make land fall in the coming days. Dorian is currently a Category 4 hurricane, and is expected to be one of the most devastating storms in decades.

Hurricane Dorian is currently approaching the Bahamas, where it will sweep across the islands before hitting the south-eastern United States. Top meteorologists are monitoring the storm, including the National Hurricane Center. On Saturday, the Atlantic branch of the organization posted a high-resolution look at the storm.

The image was an animated GIF of just a few seconds, but it got the point across just fine. It showed the swirling center of Dorian known as the eye of the storm, where the high-speed winds emanate out from. Around it was a dense mass of clouds, rippling with the motion.

Forecasters noted that this was “visible imagery” used in scientific models, rather than photos or videos of the system. Still, it got the point across, for those that were not already aware of the strength Dorian is packing.

Hurricane Dorian has already proved to be an anomaly among high-powered tropical storms. According to a report by CBS News, it currently has sustained wind speeds of 140 miles per hour, with higher gusts coming and going. However, it is crawling towards the U.S. at a mere 10 miles per hour — much slower than experts would predict.

This has effected some of the projections when it comes to the storm’s path, giving meteorologists more data to account for. Initially, experts thought it would hit Florida dead-on, yet the latest models show it clipping past the peninsula and impacting Georgia or South Carolina instead.

Either way, the south-east will be heavily-impacted. A model published by The New York Times on Saturday showed the storm skirting the eastern coast of Florida with the eye of the storm just off shore. It kept this distance all the way to South Carolina, just over the Georgia line, making that its official land fall.

However, all of these models come with a huge margin for error, with a shaded area the experts call the “cone of uncertainty.” In practical terms, officials are asking people not to relax in their preparations.

“If it bumps just a little west, then you’re looking at really, really significant impacts,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said. “Don’t make any assumptions, remain vigilant, and be prepared. You don’t want to overread these tracks. You’re still looking at really significant storm surge in the east coast of Florida. You’re looking at major flooding events in different parts of the state.”

Stay tuned for updates on Hurricane Dorian.