President Donald Trump has warned the nation that Hurricane Dorian may be one of the biggest storms to hit this country in decades — as weather officials explain the storm is currently making its way across the Caribbean toward the Bahamas and the southeastern coast of the United States.
It is for now considered a dangerous Category 4 storm, as Fox News detailed, with winds of 150 mph.
(Update on Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. ET: The National Hurricane Center says Dorian is now a Category 5 hurricane with 160 mph sustained winds.)
The storm has slowed from 12 mph to 8 mph and is moving west.
Its “fury” is currently aimed at the northwestern Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center said at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday morning, the outlet also noted.
Dorian was roughly 260 miles east of the northwestern Bahamas on Saturday afternoon and 415 miles east of West Palm Beach, Florida.
Related: Navy Evacuates Dozens of Warships Ahead of Dorian
Its winds increased on Saturday — nearing a Category 5 classification, where winds of over 156 mph are sustained.
Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center, described Dorian as a storm in very good health; he said it’s a “textbook” hurricane with a well-defined eye and still growing in strength, as the Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.
While Graham said the forecast looks better now for Florida, the coast is still in danger.
“If you’re in Florida, yes, you can look at it and see that as we’re getting further off the coast, and it seems like good news,” he said late Saturday morning, as the same outlet reported. “But again, at the same time, [it’s] a 150-mile hurricane. This is a powerful storm. A little closer to us and you could get more impacts. But either way, some places in Florida could see some of that rain, could still see some of those elevated tides with the storm surge, so we’ve just got to pay attention to the latest forecast.”
Here is other information as millions of people buy water, propane, and other essentials and prepare for a strong storm potentially headed their way.
I am monitoring Hurricane Dorian and receiving frequent briefings and updates. It is important to heed the directions of your State and Local Officials. This is an extremely dangerous storm, please prepare and be safe! @FEMA @NWS @NOAA @Readygov @FLSERT https://t.co/Fee9EB1wQk
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 31, 2019
8/31 8 AM EDT: There's been a notable change overnight to the forecast of #Dorian after Tuesday. It should be stressed that the new forecast track does not preclude Dorian making landfall on the Florida coast, as large portions of the coast remain in the track cone of uncertainty pic.twitter.com/GSds0bKunM
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 31, 2019
Although the path of #Dorian has shifted, the entire East Coast is still vulnerable to significant impacts. Residents in East Coast counties should continue to monitor local reports and stay vigilant.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) August 31, 2019
As of 2 p.m., #Dorian continues to head westward towards The Bahamas. pic.twitter.com/8RHv6Qbfsx
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) August 31, 2019
This article has been updated.
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