Hurricane Dorian barrels toward Southeast U.S. as likelihood of direct hit on Florida decreases
With peak winds of 150 mph, Hurricane Dorian is as imposing and threatening as ever as it churns toward Florida and the Southeast United States. But because of a shift in model forecasts toward the east, it is possible that Florida may miss the full fury of this severe hurricane while areas farther north into coastal Georgia and the Carolinas face an increasing risk.
Even so, the National Hurricane Center is urging Floridians not to let their guard down and to continue preparing for an “extremely dangerous” hurricane. As of 8 p.m. Saturday, the storm was centered 155 miles east of Great Abaco in the Bahamas, and was headed west at 8 mph. The storm’s peak winds are predicted to increase to at least 155 mph Saturday night or early Sunday and, while not explicitly forecast, it’s possible the storm will reach Category 5 intensity for a time.
Because it would just take a small shift in Dorian’s track for hazardous winds to reach Florida’s east coast, a tropical storm watch was issued for the zone from Deerfield Beach, just north Fort Lauderdale, to Sebastian Inlet, just south of Melbourne.
“Life-threatening storm surge and devastating hurricane-force winds are still possible along portions of the Florida east coast by the early to middle part of next week,” the center wrote as a key message in its 5 a.m. bulletin. “Residents should have their hurricane plan in place, know if they are in a hurricane evacuation zone, and listen to advice given by local emergency officials.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/extremely-dangerous-hurricane-dorian-barrels-toward-southeast-us-as-likelihood-of-direct-hit-on-florida-decreases/ar-AAGBTwx?li=BBnb7Kz