Hurricane Dorian is a Category 5 storm, the most powerful, with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Dorian will be capable of catastrophic damage as it tracks towards the Bahamas on Sunday into Monday. Fluctuations will likely continue over the next 24 hours, but Dorian is expected to remain a powerful hurricane.
As of 8 a.m. ET, the storm was about 35 miles east of Great Abaco Island, Bahamas, and 225 miles east of West Palm Beach, Florida. It was expected to hit Great Abaco “soon,” the weather service said.
It’s moving to the west at 8 mph and is expected to strike Grand Bahama, the northernmost island in the archipelago, late Sunday or early Monday, forecasters say.
The northwestern Bahamas is under a hurricane warning, which means “preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,” the hurricane center said.
The northern Bahamas was already witnessing Dorian’s strength, with heavy wind and rain pounding the islands. Conditions are expected to grow only worse as Dorian stalls over the Bahamas, forecasters say. Some models forecast that it could stay for 24 hours or longer.
The hovering storm is predicted to bring storm surge that will raise water levels 15 to 20 feet above normal and deliver rainfall in excess of 20 inches, meteorologists say.
Once the storm finishes deluging the Bahamas, it is expected to head toward Florida, but exactly where (or if) it will hit the US East Coast remains unclear.
Key developments
• As of 8 a.m. ET Sunday, a hurricane warning was in effect for the northwestern Bahamas, except for Andros Island, which is under hurricane watch.
• Life-threatening storm surges of 15 to 20 feet could crash into the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama, the hurricane center said.
• The northwestern Bahamas also could get 12 to 30 inches of rain, the hurricane center said.
• Dorian is expected to move across the Bahamas slowly, creating life-threatening conditions as “rain, winds and storm surge (keep) piling up,” hurricane center Director Ken Graham said Saturday.
• Dorian’s forecast track has shifted east since Friday, making a landfall in Florida less likely, but not out of the question.
Where will Dorian go next?
Hurricane Dorian has been threatening to make its way to the US mainland, but there is still a lot of uncertainty on when and where it will make landfall.
The storm had been projected to reach Florida for Labor Day weekend, but current forecasts have it turning north Monday evening. The storm is predicted to ride along the Florida, Georgia and Carolina coasts, according to meteorologists.
Many models show the storm staying just off Florida’s coast Tuesday and then skirting the coasts of Georgia and North and South Carolina.
Still, a major hurricane hovering just off the coast could cause serious damage.
“Understand: Even if it doesn’t directly strike Florida … you’re looking at major flooding events,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters Saturday.
With wind and rain possible without direct landfall, many Florida residents are still preparing.
Pete Werner said he is riding out the storm at home in Orlando but is sending his mother to Walt Disney World. He said it’s the “safest place” to be in Central Florida during a hurricane.
“Their hotels are built to exceed Florida building codes so they’re built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane,” he said. “It’s a self-contained city.”
Werner said he didn’t want his 88-year-old mother to be sitting in the heat if she loses power.
“I’d rather her ride it out in luxury over at the BoardWalk,” he said, referring to the Disney resort.
