A Category 1 hurricane is defined as having 74 mph sustained winds, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
— Zach Holder (@ZachHolderWx) August 28, 2019
St. Johns and St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, located in the Caribbean Sea, are currently under flash flood warnings. The US National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts that Dorian could drop 10 inches of rain on the two islands over the next day. Albert Bryan Jr., the governor of the US Virgin Islands, has initiated a territory-wide curfew for all residents on the islands. It went into effect Tuesday morning and is expected to last until 6:00 a.m. Thursday morning.
— Hector Cintron (@hcintron) August 28, 2019
— NWS Mobile (@NWSMobile) August 28, 2019
— Jim Edds (@ExtremeStorms) August 28, 2019
Puerto Rico, which is under a hurricane watch, is bracing itself for Dorian as the hurricane is expected to sweep across the eastern part of the island some time Wednesday. Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez declared a state of emergency Monday, also revealing a list of equipment that public agencies have purchased to deal with inclement weather conditions since Category 4 Hurricane Maria unleashed its wrath on the island in September 2017, leaving half the US territory without power for months after the storm struck the Island of Enchantment.
— Amanda Campau (@AmandaCampau) August 28, 2019
— Wilniady Sepulveda (@WilniadyS) August 28, 2019
Hurricane warnings have also been issued for the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean islands of Vieques and Culebra. According to the US National Ocean Service, “hurricane warnings indicate that hurricane conditions (sustained winds of 74 mph or higher) are expected somewhere within the specified area.”
Four to six inches of inches are expected in eastern Puerto Rico, according to the NWS. In addition, some power outages and tree damage could occur in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Wednesday.
Dorian is expected to take a west-northwest turn and hit southeastern US over the weekend. Analysts have suggested that the hurricane could strengthen into a Category 3 storm before striking the US state of Florida over the weekend.
— Convective Weather (@convectivewx) August 28, 2019
Dorian is currently expected to make landfall on Central Florida’s east coast Monday, although the forecast could change in the next few days.
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 28, 2019
Lenny Curry, the mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, confirmed Wednesday that the city is already preparing for the hurricane. Although it is too early to make evacuation decisions, the city’s Emergency Operations Center will carry out necessary emergency preparedness and emergency management activities Thursday, Curry confirmed.
“We have been through this before, we know what to do," Curry said, according to multiple sources.
