Dorian Sets Record with 185 mph Winds

In this enhanced satellite image provided by NOAA, Hurricane Dorian is shown over the Bahamas at 11:00 a.m, EDT, Sept. 1, 2019. Dorian is a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 180 miles per hour and is now the strongest hurricane ever recorded in northwestern Bahamas, and the National Hurricane Center said “catastrophic conditions” were taking place in the Abacos islands. (NOAA via Key News)

A fearsome Hurricane Dorian set a record Sunday as it tore into the Abacos islands with 185 mph winds and gusts over 230 mph.

For Miami, the chance of tropical-storm force wind was put at 56%. Key Biscayne was still under a state of emergency, and Mayor Mike Davey warned residents to remain wary. Schools and other services on the island were canceled or curtailed, as the growing width of storm threatened to spread rough weather over a wide area. See the list of Dorian Cancellations

From Florida to North Carolina, residents and government officials are preparing for possible impacts of Dorian, even as forecasts suggest the hurricane’s powerful core will remain offshore when it heads up the Southeast seacoast.

Forecasters were candid about risk inherent in the storm’s predicted course. “The overall trend is for the hurricane to turn
northward offshore but dangerously close to the Florida peninsula,” wrote Hurricane Specialist Lixion Avila. “Although the official track forecast does not show landfall, users should not focus on the exact track. A small deviation to the left of the track could bring the intense core of the hurricane its dangerous winds closer to or onto the Florida coast.”

Florida resident Mike Lafferty boarded up his house near Vero Beach days ago. He says days of waiting can be bothersome, but it beats being caught unprepared. The National Hurricane Center has a 60% chance of the Vero Beach area getting hurricane force winds before early Wednesday. Says Lafferty: “You have to be ready for it.”

The Category 5 hurricane battering parts of the Bahamas with nearly unprecedented strength Sunday. The 185 mph (295 kph) winds make it the second-strongest storm in the Atlantic Ocean since 1950.

Officials issued:

• Storm Surge Warning has been issued from Lantana to the Volusia/Brevard County Line.
• A Storm Surge Watch has been issued from the Volusia/Brevard County Line to the Flagler/Volusia County Line.
• A Hurricane Warning has been issued from Jupiter Inlet to the Volusia/Brevard County Line.
• A Hurricane Watch has been issued from the Volusia/Brevard County Line to the Flagler/Volusia County Line

Palm Beach County announced a mandatory evacuation for the eastern half of the county beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday after the morning forecast put the area in a tropical storm warning. The evacuation includes mobile homes, substandard housing, low-lying areas prone to flooding and homes along the Intracoastal Waterway and on barrier islands.

The City of Jacksonville announced will start mandatory evacuations Tuesday for high-risk zones.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster says it is too early to decide whether to order evacuations along the state’s coast because of Hurricane Dorian.

McMaster wouldn’t say Sunday when he might decide. The governor has ordered people to leave the coast in each of the past three hurricane seasons, although only one storm — Matthew in 2016 — made landfall. McMaster says emergency officials are preparing for lane reversals if evacuations are needed and evaluating possible shelters.

In this graphic provided by the National Hurricane Center, the prediction for Hurricane Dorian is shown as of 5 p.m. Sept. 1, 2019 (National Hurricane Center via Key News)