Dorian is still a Cat. 2 hurricane. Maximum sustained winds are 105 mph and it's moving NNW at 9 mph with a central pressure of 964 mb. Dorian will move very close to the Florida, Georgia coasts through tonight. Tomorrow through Friday morning, the center of Dorian is forecast to move near or over the Carolina coasts. Some weakening may occur but it will still be a powerful hurricane over the next few days.
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 175 miles. Hurricane Watches/Warnings and Tropical Storm Watches/Warnings are up along the Florida coast to the Virginia coast.
The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide along the Carolina coast will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could reach 4-7 feet above ground if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide.
Dorian is expected to produce the following rainfall totals through Friday: Coastal Carolinas...5 to 10 inches, isolated 15 inches. Atlantic Coast from Daytona Beach, Florida to the Georgia-South Carolina border...3 to 6 inches, with isolated 9 inches near the Georgia coast. Southeast Virginia...3 to 6 inches. This rainfall may cause life-threatening flash floods.
Maryland will begin to feel the impacts from Dorian Thursday night into Friday as clouds and wind will increase. Showers and storms may reach the area courtesy of the outer rain bands but the highest risk areas will be in southern Maryland and the adjacent waters over the Chesapeake Bay and lower Tidal Potomac with winds gusting 20-30 mph in southern Maryland and even higher over the waters. With that said, it highly depends on the track of the storm because any shift closer to our region would change the local impacts.
Dorian will still be a hurricane when it travels near the Outer Banks on Friday. It will continue to move NE into the Atlantic through Friday bringing rain for part of the day. By Friday night, winds will gradually decrease as the storm pulls away from the Mid-Atlantic states. Conditions will begin to improve as high pressure begins to build in form the west.
Stay Tuned!
