New update:
199
WTNT65 KNHC 020053
TCUAT5
Hurricane Dorian Tropical Cyclone Update
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL052019
900 PM EDT Sun Sep 01 2019
...CATASTROPHIC CATEGORY 5 DORIAN CONTINUES TO BATTER THE ABACOS...
...EYE NEARING EASTERN END OF GRAND BAHAMA...
This is a life-threatening situation. Residents in the Abacos
should continue to stay in their shelter as the northern eyewall of
Dorian remains over the area. Residents in eastern Grand Bahama are
experiencing the western eyewall. Do not leave your shelter as the
eye passes over, as winds will rapidly increase on the other side
of the eye.
Hazards:
- Wind Gusts over 220 mph
- Storm Surge 18 to 23 feet above normal tide levels with higher
destructive waves
These hazards will cause extreme destruction in the affected areas
and will continue for several hours.
SUMMARY OF 900 PM EDT...0100 UTC...INFORMATION
$$
Forecaster Latto
Looks like the eye is going to crawl westward over the whole length of Grand Bahama Island... will the center being over that strip of land knock the storm down a little in strength or will it feed from the outer bands that will remain over water?
I can't even begin to imagine what 220 mph wind gust must be like. I fear a great loss of life in the Bahamas not only from the winds but also from the massive storm surge. While in most hurricanes it’s the storm surge and flooding that kills the most, but 185 sustained winds with 220 mph wind gusts, I fear it will obliterate all but the most highly enforced buildings. Think of what a tornado does. Add to that massive flooding. :(
When Isabell came through Maryland in 2003 I was living in Baltimore, newly separated from my husband and living alone in a 90-year-old house in NE Baltimore with very big trees all around. I recall at the worst, sustained winds for a few hours of 40 to 50 mph with some 70 to 80 and up to a few 90 to 100 mph gusts.
I was afraid to go upstairs to the bedroom and so slept down stairs along with 3 very nervous cats, in the most central room in the house, the dining room, just in case one of the two very tall pine trees next to the house came crashing down. I didn’t sleep at all that night.
All night long I heard big tree branches on the trees on the big hill behind the house, cracking and coming down in the back yard. The house itself, the roof and windows creaked and groaned at times. I heard the two big pine trees next to the house moaning and creaking but they stood. I heard one big crash that the next morning found was a big tree on the hill that came down but missed the house by only a few yards.
Where I lived, Isabell didn’t bring much rain but a lot wind and the wind was scary. Amazingly while the power flicked off and on all night, I never lost power. I did lose cable and the land line telephone.
So I was surprised when thinking just because I came through OK and attempted to drive to work the next morning, how many had lost power (so many traffic lights out) and how many roads were closed due to down trees and or downed power lines. What was normally a 30-minute drive to work took me nearly 2 hours.
When I got to work, my office mate called me. She lived along Middle River and the storm surge from Isabell coming up the Chesapeake Bay and tributaries, flooded her house, a near total loss, she lost her house and everything in it but was lucky to have evacuated at the last minute and so lived.
And keep in mind that was just a barely category 1 storm when it came through Baltimore.
I was just a little kid when tropical storm Agnes came through Maryland. Not a big wind storm but I remember all the flooding and destruction.
If you are in an area where they are saying you should evacuate or take precautions, take it seriously. This is not a storm you want to dismiss or ride it out.
And if the storm makes a big turn north and doesn’t bring the high winds, you are still likely to experience flooding along the coast and tropical storm force winds. And even if it takes a great big turn out to sea, which I really hope it does, think of it as a drill for a future storm that doesn’t.