A weakened but still powerful Hurricane Dorian was hugging the Atlantic coastline early Wednesday on its slow northwest trek toward a possible landfall in Georgia or the Carolinas, officials said.
The Category 2 storm — moving at 8 mph with top sustained winds of 105 mph — was about 90 miles east of Daytona Beach, Florida, at 5 a.m. Wednesday as it tracked almost parallel to the shore, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Some further weakening is expected during the next couple of days, but Dorian is expected to remain a potent, dangerous and relentless storm.
The Miami-based weather center said a turn toward the north is forecast by Wednesday evening, followed by a turn toward the north-northeast early Thursday.
The storm will move dangerously close to the coasts of Florida and Georgia through Wednesday night — and its core is forecast to move near or over the coast of South Carolina and North Carolina on Thursday through Friday morning.
Even though the entire Florida coast now lies outside the so-called cone of uncertainty, forecasters warn that a minor shift in direction could still expose parts of the Sunshine State to hurricane-force winds.
“I think we’re fortunate that this will have minimal impact on Florida,” acting Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Peter Gaynor said Tuesday at a news conference with Gov. Ron DeSantis in Tallahassee.
The Florida coast from Sebastian Inlet to Ponte Vedra Beach was expected to feel hurricane conditions Wednesday morning, according to the Miami Herald.
Storm surge — combined with the higher-than-average high tide — already flooded streets, homes and buildings on the state’s northeast coast.
And officials warn the flooding could worsen in vulnerable areas like Jacksonville and St. Augustine.
“It’s still not over yet, so be prepared for any scenario,” Gaynor said.
Although Dorian’s power is weakening, its wind field has grown with tropical storm-force winds extending out to 175 miles from its core, the hurricane center said Wednesday.
Hurricane-force winds were blowing up to 60 miles from the center, according to the update.
As updates from the hurricane center continued to signal that Florida was out of the direct line of fire, residents up and down the coast began to breathe a sigh of relief.
“We got really lucky. Incredibly lucky,” Chris Andrews, a resident of Port Salerno on the St. Lucie River inlet, told the Herald. “We’re just thinking about the Abacos and the Bahamas and how devastating it is for them.”
The islands were ravaged by the strongest storm in their history for a terrifying 48 hours.
The 185-mph winds razed communities in the Abacos as the storm surge exceeded 20 feet in some areas.
At least seven people in the Bahamas have died, but the death toll could easily rise once rescue workers sift through the destruction.
With Post wires
