Hurricane Dorian: At Least Five Dead in Bahamas

By AP. Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis says at least five people have died in the Abaco Islands as Hurricane Dorian continues to pound the region as a Category 4 storm.

Minnis said Monday that there are also people in nearby Great Bahama island who are in serious distress. He said rescue crews will respond to calls for help as soon as weather conditions allow.

He said many homes and buildings have been severely damaged or destroyed. (Read more from “Hurricane Dorian: At Least Five Dead in Bahamas” HERE)

____________________________________________________

Hurricane Dorian Stalls over Bahamas, Still Expected to Bypass South Florida

By The Sun Sentinel. Hurricane Dorian’s likely path finally steered clear of South Florida late Monday as the region still faced the risk of hurricane-force winds from the edges of the storm, according to the National Hurricane Center. Meanwhile, the Category 4 hurricane slowed almost to a standstill as it kept pummeling the Bahamas with intense winds and storm surge.

The National Hurricane Center expects Dorian to resume a west-northwestward motion overnight Monday, followed by a turn northwest late Tuesday night and a northeastward motion expected to begin by Wednesday night.

Despite the favorable movement of the cone of uncertainty, which shows the likely course of the hurricane’s center, forecasters warned Floridians against concluding they had escaped the worst.

“Although the center of Dorian is forecast to move near, but parallel to, the Florida east coast, only a small deviation of the track toward the west would bring the core of the hurricane onshore,” the hurricane center said in a 5 p.m. forecast discussion.

In South Florida, as the storm’s outer bands began sweeping through Monday, towns were desolate and highway traffic sparse from Boca Raton north through St. Lucie County. The storm struck with sporadic periods of driving rain and strong winds: A 56 mph gust was reported at Juno Beach pier. Sustained winds at the pier hit 40 mph, putting them at tropical strength. At 8:29 p.m., the National Weather Service reported a 40 mph gust at its weather station in Palm Beach. (Read more from “Hurricane Dorian Stalls over Bahamas, Still Expected to Bypass South Florida” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE