Hurricane Dorian has weakened as it finally moves away from Grand Bahama Island. Tropical storm force winds are occurring across parts of the Florida coast as the hurricane slowly parallels the state.
Some of the videos and pictures in the diary are disturbing, so viewer discretion is advised.
...DORIAN LASHING THE CENTRAL FLORIDA EAST COAST...
SUMMARY OF 800 PM EDT...0000 UTC...INFORMATION
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LOCATION...28.1N 78.8W
ABOUT 110 MI...180 KM E OF CAPE CANAVERAL FLORIDA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...110 MPH...175 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NW OR 325 DEGREES AT 6 MPH...9 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...959 MB...28.32 INCHES
Dorian has upwelled cooler waters while stalled all weekend over the Bahamas and has entrained some dry air. This is why the hurricane has weakened. It soon, however, will move over the Gulf Stream and there is an opportunity for the hurricane to strengthen---although not to the 180mph+ monster it became on Saturday morning.
DISCUSSION AND OUTLOOK
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At 800 PM EDT (0000 UTC), the center of Hurricane Dorian was located
near latitude 28.1 North, longitude 78.8 West. Dorian is moving
toward the northwest near 6 mph (9 km/h), and a slightly faster
motion toward the northwest or north-northwest is expected tonight.
A turn toward the north is forecast by Wednesday evening, followed
by a turn toward the north-northeast Thursday morning. On this
track, the core of Hurricane Dorian will move dangerously close to
the Florida east coast and the Georgia coast tonight through
Wednesday night. The center of Dorian is forecast to move near or
over the coast of South Carolina and North Carolina Thursday through
Friday morning.
Maximum sustained winds are near 110 mph (175 km/h) with higher
gusts. Dorian is expected to remain a powerful hurricane during the
next few of days.
Dorian has become a larger hurricane. Hurricane-force winds extend
outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center and tropical-storm-
force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 km). NOAA buoy
41010 just north of the center recently reported a sustained wind
of 67 mph (107 km/h) and a wind gust of 83 mph (133 km/h).
The latest minimum central pressure based on Air Force Reserve
reconnaissance data is 959 mb (28.32 inches).
We’ve got a few more days to go with this one, and then it’s out of here. It’s going to be a rough day tomorrow for the East coast of Florida and coastal Georgia, and then on into the coastal Carolinas Thursday.
But the devastation in the Bahamas is apocalyptic. It’s true that on Daily Kos we often exaggerate our adjectives. The videos and images, which are deeply disturbing, airing today though pretty much live up to the term. The hurricane has obliterated Abaco, particularly in and around the island’s largest town, Marsh Harbour.
Storm chaser Josh Morgerman was located and evacuated to Nassau. He reported:
The school he sheltered in with dozens of others disintegrated and he and they relocated to a sturdier complex. The Bahamian Defense force and US Coast Guard, along with the British Navy, are currently evacuating survivors and engaging in search and rescue, a truly massive effort.
These pictures, from an overflight earlier today, are disturbing.
Some of these are pictures of a shanty town area of Marsh Harbour, home to Haitian immigrants, whose position in Bahamian society is fraught. There is yet no word on the fate of the people who lived there.
This video aired on CNN today and it too is disturbing.
This next video appears to be from a digital newspaper out of Puerto Rico, but is Abaco as well. It appears to be an on-ground view of the same low-lying poor neighborhood seen above.
If you choose to watch the next video, please do so with the sound on.
Here is one more video---this is perhaps the worst tropical cyclone damage I’ve ever seen, anywhere, ever.
These people are going to need a great deal of help to get back on their feet.
At least 5 are officially reported dead as of now, and that number is expected to go up. I am not sure where they will house the evacuees from Abaco, as Grand Bahama is also flooded. Marsh Harbour was the 3rd largest city in the Bahamas, Freeport the 2nd.
HOW CAN YOU HELP
Money is better than supplies. Charity Navigator has put together a list of charities helping.
ELSEWHERE
Hurricane season does not peak until next Thursday and there is one tropical storm in the Gulf, headed toward a Mexican landfall, and one tropical depression in the far Atlantic worth keeping an eye on. I fear this season has not finished its wrath. Hurricane season ends November 30.