Hurricane Dorian Strengthens to Category 3 as It Heads for Florida. Here ’s the Latest Track and Forecast

Hurricane Dorian has been upgraded to a Category 3 storm as it barrels toward the Bahamas and Florida’s Atlantic coast, according to the latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center. The hurricane gained strength Friday, with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph, as it moved about 420 miles east of the northwestern Bahamas and 595 miles east of West Palm Beach, Fla. as of 5 p.m. Friday. Forecasters predict the hurricane will get even stronger. “Dorian is anticipated to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane while it moves near the northwestern Bahamas and approaches the Florida peninsula into early next week,” according to the National Hurricane Center. Dan Kottlowski, a meteorologist with Accuweather, says he is concerned the storm could cause as much devastation as Hurricane Andrew, which was a Category 5 hurricane when it made landfall in Florida in 1992. It was blamed for 44 deaths in the state and $27 billion in damage. “I would not at all be afraid to compare this to Andrew,” Kottlowski tells TIME. But, he adds: “Andrew was moving fast. (Dorian) is not moving fast.” “This is going to be a slow-moving storm and that’s why we’re so concerned about heavy rainfall,” Kottlowski says. Kottlowski says he cannot rule out Dorian’s windspeed being upgraded to Category 5 by the time it makes landfall. Watch as the eye of #HurricaneDorian2019 begins to form in this 1-minute visible loop from NOAA...
Source: TIME: Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Florida onetime Puerto Rico weather Source Type: news