Hurricane Dorian showed signs of strengthening again as it glides “dangerously close” to the southeast coast of the United States, according to the National Hurricane Center.
In its 5 p.m. update Wednesday, the NHC said Dorian, moving at 8 mph, is “expected to remain in an environment of light to moderate vertical wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures,” conditions that are favorable for intensification.
Dorian may even “briefly regain major hurricane strength” in the next two days the agency said in its discussion post, noting that an Air Force “Hurricane Hunter” flight detected dropping barometric pressure.
Here are the #Dorian Key Messages for 5 AM EDT Sept 4. Catch the latest NHC forecast at https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB or for local weather details, see https://t.co/SiZo8ohZMN pic.twitter.com/9ApabeqxI1
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 4, 2019
Dorian is currently a Category 2 hurricane with 110-mph maximum sustained winds. It peaked over Labor Day weekend, making landfall over the northern Bahamas as a Category 5 storm with 185-mph sustained winds. A “major” hurricane is at least a Category 3 with 111-mph sustained winds, according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Regardless of whether Dorian does return to Category 3 status, heavy rain, strong winds, dangerous storm surge, and even tornadoes remain real threats for residents along the coast from Florida to southern Virginia, where states of emergency have been declared and mandatory evacuations have been issued. Although the center of Dorian is more than 100 miles offshore right now, landfall over the Carolinas later this week remains a possibility.
After the next two days, a weakening trend is expected, and by Friday, the system should divert from the coast and out into the Atlantic Ocean.
The destruction in the northern Bahamian islands was catastrophic. As many as 13,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed in the Bahamas, and seven people have been reported killed by Dorian, but that figure is expected to rise as rescue crews get a better idea of the scope of the damage.
