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Killer Hurricane Dorian Moves Off Bahamas toward Florida

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By David E. Hubler
Contributor, EDM Digest

Weather forecasters say Hurricane Dorian, now a Category 3 storm, began moving slowly toward Florida on Tuesday at one mile an hour after stalling over the Bahamas during the weekend.

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As a Category 5 storm, Dorian was the strongest storm ever to hit the Bahamas. CNN reported that Dorian killed five people there, destroyed many homes and left countless residents homeless.

On Monday evening, the storm was 25 miles northeast of Freeport, the main city on Grand Bahama. Dorian was clocked with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph.

Bahamian Prime Minister Calls Dorian a ‘Historic Tragedy’

“We are in the midst of a historic tragedy in parts of the northern Bahamas,” Prime Minister Hubert A. Minnis said at a news conference late Monday. “Our mission and focus now is search, rescue and recovery. I ask for your prayers for those in affected areas and for our first responders.”

Hurricane Dorian Expected to Arrive on Southern US Coast by Mid-Week

On its present course, the hurricane would come “dangerously close” to the Florida coast, beginning late Tuesday night and continuing through Wednesday evening, The New York Times reported.

“The very dangerous core of Dorian is expected to stay roughly 50 miles off the Florida coast, which will bring hurricane force winds, surge and heavy rain,” said CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen.

Dorian will then approach the Georgia and South Carolina coasts on Wednesday night and Thursday, the National Hurricane Center predicted. By the end of the week, Dorian is expected to be off the coasts of North Carolina and southern Virginia.

The governors of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina have already ordered mandatory evacuations for some coastal residents.

Thousands of Flights Cancelled in Bahamas and Florida

According to Flightaware.com, more than 1,700 U.S. flights within, into or out of the United States were canceled. That figure includes flights from Florida and Bahamian airports, such as:

  • Freeport, Grand Bahama
  • Marsh Harbor, Abaco
  • North Eleuthera, Eleuthera
  • South Bimini, Bimini
  • Orlando, Florida
  • Daytona Beach, Florida
  • Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  • Stuart, Florida

Dorian Could Be the First of Several Seasonal Hurricanes

Dorian may usher in the heart of the hurricane season. The Miami Herald reported Sunday that National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasters “are keeping an eye on other systems in the Atlantic” that have potential to form into hurricanes.

“A disturbance producing showers and thunderstorms ‘a few hundred miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands’ has an 80 percent chance of cyclone formation in the next 48 hours and a 90 percent chance in the next five days,” the NHC said.

First responders and local officials are urging everyone in the potential path of the storm to be prepared no matter how Dorian continues its erratic path.

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