Storm Dorian track: Risk of hurricane storm surge in Florida increases – NOAA uncertain

Tropical storm Dorian is wreaking havoc in the Atlantic Ocean, tracking heavy rainfall, severe winds and dangerous surf over Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and US and British Virgin Islands. Hurricane watches and tropical storm warnings are in force, as the weather system continues towards Florida. The National Hurricane Centre has issued advisories for wind, rain and surf as the weather system intensifies.

Currently, the storm is packing wind speeds of 60mph and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the centre.

At first, Dorian was forecast to reach just Category One hurricane status before weakening, however now forecasters are predicting the weather system will strengthen to Category Two status before hitting Florida.

A Category Two hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale is classified as having wind speeds for between 96 and 109mph.

The NHC describe Category Two hurricanes as having: “Extremely dangerous winds will cause extensive damage: Well-constructed frame homes could sustain major roof and siding damage.

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“Many shallowly rooted trees will be snapped or uprooted and block numerous roads. Near-total power loss is expected with outages that could last from several days to weeks.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Tuesday he had received a briefing from the Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Moskowitz and it is time to start preparing for Dorian.

Mr DeSantis said: “Based on the current track of Tropical Storm Dorian, all residents on the East Coast should prepare for impacts, including strong winds, heavy rain and flooding.

“Make sure to have your supplies ready and follow @FLSERT [Florida Division of Emergency Management] and local media for the latest updates on the forecast.”

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Currently, the weather system is approaching several Caribbean islands and is expected to be close to a Category One hurricane as it approaches Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic on Wednesday and Thursday according to CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen.

For Puerto Rico, CNN meteorologist Chad Myers warned the storm could easily damage already fragile infrastructure on the island where 2,975 people died from Hurricane Maria two years ago.

Mr Myers said: “There’s already so much damage on the ground from (Maria) that this isn’t going to take a lot to make a significant amount of damage, especially flooding.”

A state of emergency has been declared on the island, and Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced urged people to prepare for the storm.

Ms Vázquez said on Twitter: “For citizens who do not yet have safe roofs, we will have shelters ready.”

As of the latest update at 5am AST (10am BST), Dorian was located approximately 85 miles south-east of St Croix.

It is tracking to the northwest close to 13mph, and this track is expected to continue over the next few days.

The full forecast track according to the NHC: “The centre of Dorian will pass over or near the US and the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico later today.

“Dorian is then forecast to move to the east of the Turks and Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas on Thursday, and near or to the east of the central and northwestern Bahamas on Friday and Saturday.”

Then it will track over the weekend toward Florida, where it is expected to hit as a Category Two hurricane.

source: express.co.uk