2 September 2019News

Hurricane Dorian looks set to miss Florida

Hurricane Dorian has passed directly over Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas, with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph, making it a category five storm.

It is the second strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, behind Hurricane Allen in 1980, and only the second category five storm on record to strike the Bahamas, after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

But it remains uncertain what impact the storm will have in the US. James Cosgrove, modeler, event response at RMS, the catastrophe risk modelling company, said: “Several days ago, Florida was bracing itself for potentially its third major hurricane landfall in as many years. Now, Dorian looks more likely to make landfall in the Carolinas, or, as some models increasingly suggest, it may recurve soon enough that is misses the US entirely.”

The storm’s forward speed through the northern Bahamas has proved slower than originally anticipated, meaning it is now expected to turn north once it exits the northern Bahamas on Monday evening.

Dorian is expected to remain over the Bahamas for around 24-36 hours in total before nearing the US coastline. The effects are expected to be devastating, with the islands not protected by the type of mountainous terrain that you see on other Caribbean islands, according to RMS.

Most severe historical storms come up from the south and hit more islands ,and usually impact New Providence and the city of Nassau, which on this occasion look set to be spared the worst.