SOUTHEAST N.C. — All eyes are on Hurricane Dorian as it continues its crawl across the Atlantic and makes its way to the U.S.
Related: Hurricane Dorian tracking toward Carolinas; here are some precautionary tips [Free read]
The National Hurricane Center forecast models have the storm impacting the Carolinas but with the storm still several days away, it is still unknown just how severe that impact will be or if the storm will even make landfall in the U.S.
As of 5 a.m., the storm is still a Category 4 with winds of 150 miles per hour. If the storm does continue on its predicted path, the National Hurricane Center says the most reasonable arrival time of storm-force winds will be late Wednesday night into early Thursday.
According to the National Hurricane Center, “There is an increasing risk of strong winds and dangerous storm surge along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina later this week. Residents in these areas should continue to monitor the progress of Dorian.”
The good news is that the storm is predicted to lose power as it makes its way north.
“The hurricane will remain in a fairly low-shear environment for the next few days, however since it is forecast to move quite slowly over the shallow waters of the northwestern-most Bahamas through Monday, this would likely result in less available oceanic heat content. Therefore, a very slow weakening is anticipated to commence after 12 hours or so,” according to the National Hurricane Center.
Governor Roy Cooper has already issued a state of emergency ahead of the storm and residents are being encouraged to prepare for the possibility of the storm impacting the Cape Fear Region.
Dorian is expected to bring strong winds and rains with it with 6-10 inches of rain possible for the region, according to early predictions by NOAA.
On Saturday, Pender County Emergency Manager Tom Collins said, “Pender County Emergency Management is closely monitoring Hurricane Dorian. While this storm is possibly days away from impacting us, we urge residents to remain alert to reliable news sources.”
The Pender County Emergency Operations Center will continue to monitor the storm regardless of its path, he said.
“If you don’t have a hurricane emergency kit, you have time to assemble a kit,” said Collins. “Have batteries, plenty of drinking water, non-perishable foods, medications, cash, a full tank of fuel in your vehicles, and propane in stock.”
Port City Daily will continue to monitor the storm and provide significant updates as they are issued, for more information on the storm visit the National Hurricane Center’s website.
