The Carolinas, Georgia and Virginia are being affected by Hurricane Dorian. With mass evacuations already in place and wild seas, there is more to come from this storm. And what about the UK?
...DORIAN EXPECTED TO BRING DAMAGING WINDS AND LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGES ALONG A LARGE PORTION OF THE SOUTHEAST AND MID-ATLANTIC COASTS OF THE UNITED STATES DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS...
"Water Levels Gradually Rising Along Portions of the South Carolina Coast. There is still some uncertainty regarding the exact forecast track, but significant impacts are expected across Eastern North Carolina given that Dorian is a very large system which will bring impacts felt well away from the center." NWS
Hurricane Dorian flattened and flooded the Bahamian islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco at the weekend and after remaining stationary over the islands, as a category 5 hurricane, it finally began its path NW. Florida has been under the State of Emergency for nearly a week but in the end, Dorain stayed offshore along the east coast. There has been significant coastal flooding and high winds, with large surf and swell.
There are worries that media fatigue at national level was setting in but from Georgia up to Virginia the local level NWS (National Weather Service) Dorian warnings and maps are incredible. There is a lot of detailed information to look at and a lot of effort is going on to protect communities. The hurricane comes closer to land Thursday and Friday and so there are new warnings and worries particularly for the Carolinas.
If you have seen any of #TrumpSharpie tweets, POTUS has actually managed to bring Dorian back into the wider public eye with the strange editing of his NHC chart to include Alabama.
A different story for the Carolinas
Back on the east coast, the concerns are not only from the strength of the winds. There will be heavy rain, reaching further inland bringing the risk of flooding. The storm surge which brings the risk of coastal flash flooding and these are highly populated areas. Also, tornadoes bring an extra risk, some showing already.
Through Thursday and Friday, it will be a tense time for these mid-Atlantic coast states. Next, Dorian powers north clipping NE Canada at the weekend.
“Based on the latest forecast guidance, the most likely track projection brings Hurricane Dorian south of the Maritimes on Saturday, pushing through eastern Nova Scotia late in the day, and then over western Newfoundland by Sunday morning. Severe winds and rainfall will have major impacts for southeastern New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Western Newfoundland, and the Quebec Lower North Shore.” Canadian Met Service.
There are flooding warnings and coastal concerns with the risk of a storm surge. With hurricane force winds possible, high impacts are likely as leaves are still on the trees, so likely to fall and power outages would result.
Once past Newfoundland at the end of the weekend, the low pressure is forecast to move across the northern Atlantic. It becomes a post-tropical storm by then. There is a stronger signal that the UK will have a spell of windy weather in the middle of next week. Northern areas look more at risk but it could be an autumnal time with strong winds and yet some warmer air caught up in the flow. There is also the risk of heavy rain in the far NW, starting on Tuesday. some uncertainty with this.
So we're not going to get hit by a hurricane, here in the UK but some of the energy remains caught up in the flow, the system is modified and changes but can still give some oomph to the resulting low pressures which come our way. Dorian isn't the only storm in the Atlantic, there is also TS Gabrielle, which you can see on the Canadian Met. graphic and on the image above. This could bring heavy rain close to the UK later next week. The Atlantic hurricane has truly woken up after a slow start.
