Weather Officials Warn That Hurricane Dorian Is the Strongest To Ever Approach Florida's East Coast
It battered in the Bahamas, and now Hurricane Dorian is heading toward the U.S. mainland.
As of 8 a.m. EDT Monday, the Category 5 storm was about 120 miles east of West Palm Beach, according to Fox News.
While Dorian’s course was still unpredictable, preparations were well underway on the Atlantic coast.
Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas are all still in the potential path.
“No matter what path this storm takes, our state will be impacted,” Jared Moskowitz, director of Florida’s Department of Emergency Management, said, according to Fox News.
“We will continue to work around the clock to prepare,” he said.
According to a National Hurricane Service forecast early Monday, Fox reported, Dorian was expected to make “slow westward to west-northwestward motion” over the next day or so, followed by a “gradual turn toward the northwest and north.
“On this track, the core of extremely dangerous Hurricane Dorian will continue to pound Grand Bahama Island through much of today and tonight,” it added.
“The hurricane will move dangerously close to the Florida east coast tonight through Wednesday evening.”
And there’s no doubting just how dangerous Dorian is — it’s the strongest storm that’s ever threatened Florida’s east coast, according to Fox.
“At one point, Dorian’s maximum sustained winds reached 185 mph, with gusts up to 220 mph, tying the record for the most powerful Atlantic hurricane to ever make landfall,” Fox reported.
That equaled the Labor Day hurricane of 1935, before storms were named.
“The only recorded storm that was more powerful was Hurricane Allen in 1980, with 190 mph winds, though it did not make landfall at that strength,” the report said.
ABC News reported the “strongest hurricane” milestone on Sunday morning.
JUST IN: Hurricane Dorian has become the “strongest hurricane in modern records” for the northwestern Bahamas. https://t.co/97GrqvCnc4
-Winds up to 180 mph
-Moving W at 7 mph
-20 miles ENE of Great Abaco Island pic.twitter.com/PyOrx7PjKH— ABC News (@ABC) September 1, 2019
The residents of the Bahamas have learned firsthand how powerful that is.
This video captures the devastation in the Bahamas as Hurricane Dorian continues to pound the country.
“There’s damages everywhere around my area,” one eyewitness said. “Cars and houses destroyed. This is what’s left of Marsh Harbour. This needs to end.” https://t.co/FAyq5Hajm4 pic.twitter.com/COn8Vn3Cuj
— CNN (@CNN) September 2, 2019
“Please someone, please come help us”: Bahamas residents survey devastated apartment building after Hurricane Dorian hit Abaco Islands. https://t.co/62Zy3sGveh pic.twitter.com/3Eqaf4TrNu
— ABC News (@ABC) September 2, 2019
“It’s devastating,” Joy Jibrilu, director general of the Bahamas’ Ministry of Tourism and Aviation, said Sunday afternoon, according to The Associated Press. “There has been huge damage to property and infrastructure. Luckily, no loss of life reported.”
However, CNN reported Monday morning that a young boy might have been a victim of the hurricane.
A grandmother told Bahamas news outlets that her daughter had found the body of her son, who apparently had drowned, but CNN had not confirmed that report.
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