STATIONARY HURRICANE DORIAN TO START MOVING NORTH ON TUESDAY… This is almost 9 hours of satellite imagery crammed into just a few seconds. It is staggering to watch Hurricane Dorian sit and spin with little to no movement. The system has been stationary for almost 24 hours. Dorian will start to move north in the next 12-24 hours as a large upper trough starts lifting the system to the north. A few notes this evening…
DORIAN 10PM MONDAY POSITION UPDATE… Hurricane Dorian remains a powerful category 4 major hurricane with 140 mph sustained winds as of 10PM EDT. The center of the eye of Dorian is located at 26.8N and 78.4W, right over Grand Bahama Island. Note this is the exact same coordinates position as several hours ago. The system has not moved. This is about 110 miles east of West Palm Beach, Florida. Minimum central pressure is at 942 millibars.
“WHEN DOES THE NORTHERLY TURN START?” AND OTHER F.A.Qs. The most frequently asked question I’ve had this morning and over the last 24 hours is, “When will Dorian start moving north?” This would get Dorian on its projected path ultimately to the north and northeast. The answer to this question is: Later tonight or early Tuesday. Is there a chance Dorian won’t turn north? Basically, no. I realize there are crazy conspiracy pushers and fear mongers on social media “wishcasting” Dorian into the Gulf of Mexico, but the odds of this happening are basically zero at this point. The significant impacts of Hurricane Dorian will not directly affect south Alabama or northwest Florida.
DORIAN NOW A LARGER HURRICANE… If you remember last week, the core of Hurricane Dorian was quite small. That is now no longer the case. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the center of the storm. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 140 miles from the center. This is why inland tropical storm warnings are in effect for parts of the Florida Peninsula.
My next update will be posted by 7:15AM on Tuesday. See you tomorrow!