Hurricane Dorian has regained enough strength in the overnight hours to be re-classifed as a "major" (category 3) storm. It is moving slowly to the north at only 8 mph near the coastline of South Carolina with maximum sustained winds at 115 mph. Hurricane Dorian will have a significant impact today and tonight on the coastal Carolinas in places like Charleston, South Carolina and Wilmington and the Outer Banks in North Carolina. On Friday, Hurricane Dorian will become increasingly influenced by an advancing trough of low pressure over the Great Lakes and this will cause it to accelerate to the northeast and well to the east of the Mid-Atlantic region. However, its impact will still be felt in the Mid-Atlantic on Friday as Hurricane Dorian becomes "post-tropical" and, in many ways, it'll be just like a "nor'easter". There will be some rain and wind across the region on Friday with the greatest impacts of the storm along coastal sections of Long Island and Connecticut where tropical storm force (northeast direction) winds of 30-50 mph are possible and there can be some coastal flooding as well. All of this clears out of here by the weekend which should be very comfortable for this time of year.
Read More
Hurricane Dorian remains a category 2 storm at midday and it has picked up a bit of forward speed now moving NNW at 9 mph with 105 mph maximum sustained winds and a central pressure of 964 millibars. Gusty squalls are rotating around Hurricane Dorian and impacting much of the coastal region in northeastern Florida as well as coastal sections of Georgia, South and North Carolina. Hurricane Dorian is likely to at least maintain its category 2 strength as it moves closer to the Carolina coastline and it very well could undergo some intensification as it heads over warmer waters of the Gulf Stream and leaves “upwelling-induced” cooler water behind. By early Friday, Hurricane Dorian will move to a position over the Outer Banks (NC) and will become increasingly influenced by an advancing trough of low pressure in the upper atmosphere. This upper-level feature will cause it to accelerate to the northeast passing well to the east of the Mid-Atlantic region on Friday, but important impacts are still on the table for coastal sections.
Read More
Hurricane Dorian is now about 90 miles east of Daytona Beach, Florida moving to the NNW at 8 mph with max sustained winds at 105 mph (category 2). It will parallel the northeast coastline of Florida today and then move towards the coastlines of Georgia and the Carolinas. By later tomorrow, Hurricane Dorian will head right over the Outer Banks of North Carolina and will begin to be influenced by an upper-level trough of low pressure pushing southeast across the Great Lakes. As a result, Hurricane Dorian will begin to accelerate to the northeast and should slide well east of the Mid-Atlantic region late tomorrow night and Friday. Much cooler air will arrive here tomorrow following possible strong thunderstorms later today and tonight and the pleasant air mass will stick around for the upcoming weekend.
Read More
Hurricane Dorian has finally resumed some movement today as the latest measurements have it moving to the northwest at 2 mph after being stationary for nearly 24 hours. From later today into Wednesday, Hurricane Dorian should turn north-northwest and run parallel to the east coast of Florida as it picks up some forward speed. It’ll then close in on the Carolina coastline by Thursday where it is not out of the question that it makes a landfall somewhere on its way to the Outer Banks (North Carolina). After that, Hurricane Dorian will likely pass well to the east of the Mid-Atlantic coastline from Thursday night into Friday with its greatest impact limited to coastal sections.
Read More
Hurricane Dorian continues to remain nearly stationary this morning just north of Grand Bahama Island and should resume a slow northwestward movement later this morning. From later today into Wednesday, Hurricane Dorian should turn north-northwest and run parallel to the east coast of Florida as it picks up some forward speed and then it'll close in on the Carolina coastline by Thursday. After that, Hurricane Dorian will likely pass well to the east of the Mid-Atlantic coastline from Thursday night into Friday with its greatest impact limited to coastal sections of Long Island and southeast CT. As Hurricane Dorian has been nearly stationary over the past day or so, upwelling has increased underneath its center and this has brought cooler waters to the sea surface. In turn, the cooler sea surface temperatures have resulted in a weakening of the hurricane from a category 5 system to category 3 now with max sustained winds at 120 mph. Much cooler air arrives here later this week and it'll be rather pleasant heading into the upcoming weekend.
Read More
Major Hurricane Dorian is now a category 5 storm and continues to be a significant threat to Florida and the to rest of the US east coast. It is now moving westward at 8 mph with max sustained winds at 160 mph and is approaching the northwestern Bahamas. By tomorrow, powerful Dorian will be slowing down to a crawl as it crosses over the NW Bahamas and closes in on the east coast of Florida. Later tomorrow and Tuesday, as Dorian makes its closest approach to the east coast of Florida, the hurricane will begin a turn toward the northwest/north and likely begin to move parallel to the coastline. Since there is still some uncertainty with the track forecast and a slight shift will make a huge difference, the eastern part of Florida remains under the threat of direct impacts from Dorian; especially, near the coastline. Later in the week, Dorian is likely to take a ride up along the east coast impacting the coastal Carolinas and perhaps eventually impacting the Mid-Atlantic region and New England.
Read More
A serious weather situation continues to unfold as Hurricane Dorian intensifies and continues on a path towards the Bahamas and Florida with possible landfall later Monday into Tuesday. Hurricane Dorian has reached category 2 status as of early Friday morning and could reach “major” hurricane status (i.e., category 3) later in the day. High pressure ridging in the upper part of the atmosphere is a key player in the intensification and movement of Hurricane Dorian and it should result in additional strengthening over the next couple of days – perhaps to category 4 status.
As Hurricane Dorian nears the northwestern Bahamas later this weekend, the upper-level ridge will tend to weaken and this is likely to result in a slowing down of the system. The weakening ridge may also allow for a turn to the northwest as Hurricane Dorian approaches Florida and then a turn to the north and northeast once near or just over land. This could very well result in a slow trek up along the eastern seaboard later next week; in other words, we may still be talking about Hurricane Dorian a week from now.
Read More
High pressure will maintain control of our weather for much of the upcoming holiday weekend. Temperatures will be generally comfortable for the next few days and much of the time will be rain-free. Meanwhile, on the tropical scene, Hurricane Dorian - now a cat 2 - remains a major threat for the SE US and especially the Florida Peninsula as it will encounter favorable atmospheric and oceanic conditions over the next couple of days which should result in the attainment of “major” hurricane status for the storm. There is a chance that Dorian turns up the east coast later next week after a likely hit on the Florida Peninsula so that is something we’ll closely monitor over the next several days.
Read More
Following a frontal passage in the overnight hours, less humid air will move into the region and we’ll have a return of mainly sunny skies. High pressure will continue to maintain control of our weather on Friday and the holiday weekend is looking pretty decent with rather comfortable temperatures for the end of August. Meanwhile, on the tropical scene, Hurricane Dorian has become a major threat for the SE US and especially the Florida Peninsula as it will encounter favorable atmospheric and oceanic conditions over the next few days which could result in the attainment of “major” hurricane status for the storm.
Read More
All residents from North Carolina to Florida should closely monitor Tropical Storm Dorian over the next few days as it can have a major impact by later this weekend or early next week in any part of this region. Tropical Storm Dorian has strengthened over the past 12-18 hours and has effectively fought off dry air over the Caribbean Sea. In addition, the current track will take the storm over Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in the near term – largely avoiding the island of Hispaniola which could have resulted in substantial weakening given its rugged terrain. Once TS Dorian makes it past the Caribbean islands and into the southwestern Atlantic, it’ll move over very warm waters and encounter more favorable environmental conditions (e.g., low wind shear) for intensification. If TS Dorian doesn’t reach hurricane status in the next several hours, it is very likely to in the next day or two once out over the southwest Atlantic Ocean and “major” (category 3+) hurricane status is certainly on the table in a few days.
Read More
