Deadly hurricane Dorian has now made landfall over Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in an advisory today. It is causing extensive flooding as it howled over low-lying islands off North Carolina. The Category 1 hurricane is located about 5 miles (5 kilometres) northeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and is packing maximum sustained winds of 90 miles-per-hour (150 kilometres/hour).
Dorian previously made landfall in the Bahamas as a Category 5 hurricane, causing devastation to homes, pushing islands underwater and killing at least 30 people.
The hurricane has slowly crawled north on Friday, skirting the Carolinas and flooding coastal towns a couple of days after it reduced parts of the Bahamas to rubble.
According to the NHC, a Weatherflow station at Ocracoke, North Carolina, recently reported a sustained wind of 73 mph (117 km/h) and a wind gust of 89 mph (143 km/h).
There are several warnings and watches in place as, despite the downgraded status, strong winds and torrential rain could cause dangerous conditions for residents.
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With winds down to 90mph, the Category 1 hurricane lashed homes and businesses with wind, rain and floodwaters as the storm’s centre passed just off the islands.
Ann Warner, who owns Howard’s Pub on Ocracoke Island, said of the weather conditions: “It’s bad.”
“The water came up to the inside of our bottom floor, which has never had water.”
Ms Warner added. “We’re safe. But it’s certainly a mess.”
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Dorian as already dumped up to 10 inches (25 cm) of rain along the coast between Charleston, South Carolina, to Wilmington, North Carolina, about 170 miles (275 km) away, forecasters said.
National Weather Service forecaster Alex Lamers early on Friday: “The rain is moving up north. Even the Raleigh-Durham area inland will get 3 inches today.”
Dorian is expected to push out to sea later on Friday and bring tropical storm winds to Nantucket Island and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, early on Saturday.
But it will likely spare much of the rest of the East Coast the worst of its rain and wind, before likely making landfall in Canada’s Nova Scotia that night, the NHC said.
Mr Lamers added: “It’s in the process of moving out, going north.”
Read More: Hurricane Dorian NOAA tracker: Horror storm hurtles towards US
Current warnings and watches are
A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for
- Salter Path NC to Poquoson VA
- Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds
- Neuse and Pamlico Rivers
- Hampton Roads
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for
- Surf City to the North Carolina/Virginia border
- Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for
- North Carolina/Virginia border to Fenwick Island DE
- Chesapeake Bay from Drum Point southward
- Tidal Potomac south of Cobb Island
- Woods Hole to Sagamore Beach MA
- Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard MA
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for
- Prince Edward Island
- Magdalen Islands
- Fundy National Park to Shediac
- Francois to Boat Harbour