Strengthening storm menaces Florida coast
Life-threatening winds, surge could hit Monday
Hurricane Dorian is on track to strengthen to a powerful Category 4 hurricane with possible life-threatening storm surge and dangerous winds as it slams into Florida’s east coast at the end of Labor Day weekend, forecasters said Thursday.
“Strengthening is forecast during the next few days, and Dorian is expected to become a major hurricane on Friday,” the National Hurricane Center said. Landfall on Monday is possible anywhere between the Florida Keys and southern Georgia, forecasters said.
Dorian is expected to slow as it approaches Florida, but forecasters say it’s too soon to determine where the greatest impacts will be.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for all of the state’s 67 counties in Dorian’s possible path and said he spoke with President Donald Trump about storm preparations.
“Every Florida resident should have seven days of supplies, including food, water and medicine, and should have a plan in case of disaster,” DeSantis said in a statement.
Shoppers in Florida rushed to stores to buy bottled water and wooden boards. Lines began forming at gas stations, too.
Josefine Larrauri, a retired translator, went to a supermarket in Miami only to find empty shelves in the water section and store employees unsure of when new cases would arrive.
“I feel helpless because the whole coast is threatened,” she said. “What’s the use of going all the way to Georgia if it can land there?”
Dorian left the Caribbean relatively unscathed as it pushed past Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands on Wednesday.
At 11 a.m. Thursday, Dorian was about 370 miles east of the southeastern Bahamas and heading northwest at 13 mph.
With winds up to 85 mph, Dorian was a Category 1 hurricane but was forecast to reach 130 mph as it approached Florida on Monday.
Threats of storm surge, powerful winds and heavy rains all loomed for Florida and the Bahamas, though the hurricane’s exact path as it nears the U.S. remains uncertain.
Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center, said Thursday that the storm would be slow moving as it approaches land, meaning it could dump more rain and bring more wind across Florida.
He said tropical-storm force winds are set to arrive Sunday, so preparations to board windows and stock up on supplies need to be done through Saturday.
Parts of the southeastern U.S. could be drenched in 4 to 8 inches of rainfall, with isolated patches up to a foot, possibly causing “life-threatening flash floods,” the weather service said.
Models of the storm’s possible track after landfall vary, but many maps show a turn north, possibly up the East Coast or out to sea.
In a tweet Thursday morning, Trump described Puerto Rico as “in great shape” after the storm’s fury largely avoided the island.
However, he warned Floridians to prepare.
“Florida get ready! Storm is building and will be BIG!” he tweeted.