'Catastrophic' Hurricane Dorian becomes strongest on record for northwestern Bahamas

Authored by cnbc.com and submitted by DrSalted

In this NOAA GOES-East satellite handout image, Hurricane Dorian, now a Cat. 5 storm, tracks towards the Florida coast taken at 13:40. August 31, 2019 in the Atlantic Ocean.

Hurricane Dorian has made landfall on Elbow Cay, in the Abacos Islands region of the Bahamas, the National Weather Service said Sunday afternoon.

The "extremely dangerous" storm is the strongest hurricane on record in the Northwestern Bahamas, with maximum sustained winds at 185 mph and gusts over 220 mph.

The National Hurricane Center said "catastrophic hurricane conditions" are occurring in the Abacos Islands and are expected to spread across Grand Bahama Island later Sunday. Hurricane conditions are possible in parts of Florida by late Monday or early Tuesday.

"Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 180 mph (285 km/h) with higher gusts," the agency said in an update posted Sunday morning. "Dorian is a extremely dangerous category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale."

The Saffir-Simpson scale is the classification system for Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones. A category 5 rating means the storm has reached reached wind speeds of at least 136 knots or 157 miles per hour. Dorian is the 35th category 5 storm ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean.

While the storm's intensity is likely to fluctuate Dorian is expected to remain a powerful hurricane during the next few days, the agency said.

Millions of residents along the Southeastern U.S. coast are on high alert amid warnings the storm would move northeast after battering the Bahamas, threatening Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

The NHC also issued a tropical storm warning for parts of Eastern Florida ⁠— north of the state's Deerfield Beach to Sebastian Inlet ⁠— meaning tropical storm conditions are expected in the area generally within 36 hours.

"Interests elsewhere in southern and central Florida should continue to monitor the progress of Dorian. Additional watches or warnings may be required for portions of the east coast of Florida today," the center's statement said.

Historically, early September has seen the most category 5 hurricanes and is considered the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season.

DinnerMilk on September 1st, 2019 at 19:39 UTC »

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Terminatr_ on September 1st, 2019 at 17:15 UTC »

Living in Daytona still trying to figure out when the hell my employer is gonna get a clue that we should be closed.

jlitwinka on September 1st, 2019 at 13:55 UTC »

Remember fellow Floridians, just because the storm is still predicted to turn North, doesn't mean we won't get tropical and probably some hurricane force winds, and it could always continue drifting more west. Be safe and be smart.