Fla. braces for major disaster from Dorian
With nothing in its way except hurricane-fueling warm ocean waters, Dorian is expected to intensify into an “extremely dangerous” storm threatening much of Florida, potentially as the most powerful hurricane to hit the state's east coast in nearly 30 years.
Dorian developed into a Category 3 hurricane on Friday with a well-defined eye and sustained winds of 125 mph as it continued to move northwest in the Atlantic Ocean at 10 mph as of 8 p.m. Forecast models showed a possible Category 4 assault early Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center reported, with Dorian's center line taking aim at the border of Palm Beach and Martin counties. Still, the forecasts' uncertainty means much of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas remain on high alert.
“The one constant on this storm — the track has been here or there, and there's been a lot of uncertainty — but the one thing that's been pretty certain is that this thing has been stronger very consistently and completely in line with all of the forecasting,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference in Palm Beach County, where as many as 205,000 people live in possible evacuation zones.
With the slow down in forward speed, the earliest South Florida could feel tropical storm-force winds is early Sunday morning, with Central and North Florida feeling them later in the afternoon and evening. The most likely arrival time of winds is late Sunday for southeast Florida and as late as Monday night for North Florida.
Meteorologists said their biggest concern will be Dorian's sluggish crawl as it nears Florida, placing some areas of the state at an increasing risk of a “prolonged, drawn out event of strong winds, dangerous storm surge and heavy rainfall.”
National Hurricane Center specialist Robbie Berg said models are in good agreement through Sunday on where Dorian will track, but there is more spread as Tuesday and Wednesday approach.
At least 10 million people and nearly 1 million homes may be at ri sk f rom a Category 4 storm, million. Grocery stores, gas stations and home supply retailers were packed Friday with residents stocking up in anticipating of long power outages, severe flooding and possible evacuations.
Drivers reported gas stations running out of fuel across the state, though the governor assured the public there is plenty of gas available in Florida. Getting refueling trucks to depleted stations has become a problem because of long lines and traffic, particularly in parts of South Florida.
President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency in Florida and authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster-relief efforts. The Florida National Guard expected to have 2,000 personnel activated by the end of Friday, with an additional 2,000 likely to be added over the weekend to help distribute food, water and other emergency supplies, officials said.
“This is a major event. We still have some degree of uncertainty,” DeSantis said. “We've just got to be prepared for all those circumstances. I think the probability of all those circumstances is not equal... but we've got to be prepared.”
Storm surges of 10 feet are possible, said Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center. But he stressed that Dorian is a not just a coastal problem. The storm is expected to maintain major hurricane strength deep inland before making a northerly turn, potentially dropping 6 to 15 inches of rain in sections of east and central Florida, while coastal areas as far north as Charleston, South Carolina, could see up to 10 inches. Graham said the storm could slow to 4 mph as it reaches the coast.