After moving clear of the Bahamas, Hurricane Dorian continues its slow track north along the Florida coast as a Category 2 (96-110mph) storm with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (91 knots), higher gusts and central pressure of 964 mb.
Hurricane Dorian remains a dangerous Category 2 storm, and is forecast to skirt the Florida coastline before turning North. The latest forecast from the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) states that Dorian is expected to maintain close to a Category 2 strength until it passes near or over the North Carolina outer banks.
Dorian continues to move slowly, and over the coming days, the storm is expected to gradually turn toward north as it moves through a break in the subtropical ridge. The latest forecast shows that the storm is moving NNW at 9mph.
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 175 miles.
As of the latest update on the storm, Dorian is located 90 miles ENE of Daytona Beach, Florida. A hurricane warning has been extended northeastward along the North Carolina coast, with Dorian still moving parallel to the coast of northeastern Florida.
The Government of the Bahamas has now discontinued all tropical storm warning for the Bahamas, while the tropical storm warning south of Sebastian Inlet has also been discontinued.
The NHC has warned of life-threatening storm surge and dangerous winds along sections of the Florida east coast and the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, regardless of the exact track of the storm’s centre.
The storm surge warning has been extended northward to the North Carolina / Virginia border, including Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds and the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers.
The threat of storm surge remains significant, and the NHC has said that water levels could rise well before strong winds arrive.
In the US, the states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina have all declared states of emergency, with evacuation orders for millions of people still in effect.
The NHC warns of an increasing threat of wind and rain impacts along parts of the Virginia coast and the southeastern Chesapeake Bay, advising residents to watch the development of the storm.
The Center also warned that the flash flood threat will spread up the southeast U.S. coast today and Thursday, then across the coastal Mid-Atlantic area on Friday.
With maximum wind speeds of up to 185mph over the weekend, Dorian is the second strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, behind only Hurricane Allen in 1980.
The devastation wrought in the Bahamas will not be as impactful to the global re/insurance market as a U.S. landfall would be, but Dorian looks to have had a staggering impact on lives and communities in the area.
The International Red Cross has suggested that some 13,000 homes may have already been damaged or destroyed by the storm in the Bahamas.
