Hurricane Dorian May Become Category 3, Prompts State Of Emergency In Florida
Hurricane Dorian May Become Category 3, Prompts the State Of Emergency In Florida
Hurricane Dorian strengthened into a Category 4 storm on Friday night. 130 mph winds and forecasted to be even more powerful if it hits Florida with 140 mph winds. This information is from the National Hurricane Center said.
The projected path on Friday evening moved north again. The storm is now predicted to make landfall north of Port St. Lucie. Then make a right turn and head up Florida’s east coast.
The National Hurricane Center forecast Hurricane Dorian to be a Category 3 or 4 as it enters Central Florida. This will be early Tuesday afternoon. Then moves up the coast toward Jacksonville as a Category 2 storm by Wednesday afternoon.
NHC
“A prolonged period of storm surge, high winds and rainfall are possible in portions of Florida into next week. Including the possibility of hurricane-force winds over inland portions of the Florida peninsula.”
The expected arrival of the storm is now on the tail end of Labor Day weekend. Its forward speed has slowed, but Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday morning that is good and bad news.
Governor DeSantis
“Floridians need to prepare. The bad news of the storm going slower is that that could potentially have some negative impacts once it reaches landfall. But you do have time before it reaches to prepare if you have not done so.”
Gas already became a premium with people filling up their cars and containers to refill generators. GasBuddy said 40 percent of Central Florida stations were without fuel. DeSantis said the state was waiving weight restrictions and giving fuel tankers a police escort to resupply stations.
Orlando International Airport announced it will cease commercial flight operations at 2 a.m. Monday. Passengers should check with individual airlines for flight information and schedules.
Phil Brown, CEO of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority
“Hurricane Dorian has strengthened and slowed. Our plan currently is to run full operations through Sunday. We don’t know exactly where Dorian is going but we do know that it will have a significant impact on the entire state of Florida. So to allow the airport’s 25,000 employees time to secure their homes and families it is prudent to cease operations in a timely fashion.”