ABC News(NEW YORK) — Dangerous Hurricane Dorian is strengthening and forecast to make landfall on Florida’s east coast overnight into Tuesday as a Category 4 storm.
Now forecast to approach Florida with winds of 140 mph, Dorian, should it make landfall at those wind speeds, would become just the ninth hurricane to do so, dating back to 1851.
While the latest forecast shows Dorian making landfall near West Palm Beach between 1 a.m and 4 a.m. Tuesday, different models show the hurricane taking different paths after landfall.
Some predict it’ll make its way north, bringing storm surge to Jacksonville and coastal Georgia and South Carolina. Other models forecast a path across Florida by the panhandle and into the Gulf of Mexico.
“No matter where the hurricane makes landfall, it could impact the majority of Florida,” Peter Gaynor, Acting Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), told Good Morning America on Friday.
“The clock is ticking and now is the time for residents of Florida, south Georgia to make preparations,” Gaynor said. “Don’t take this storm lightly. “
States of emergency have been issued in Florida and Georgia as residents scramble to stock up on supplies and board up their homes.
The biggest threat will be storm surges — ocean water pushed on shore by hurricane winds. One to 2 feet of rain is forecast for the east coast of Florida, and flash flooding is expected.
“All residents, especially those along the east coast, need to be prepared for possible impacts,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a statement on Thursday. “As it increases strength, this storm has the potential to severely damage homes, businesses and buildings.”
Dorian is currently at Category 2 strength with 110 winds. By Friday afternoon, it is likely to reach a Category 3 with winds of 115 mph.
Dorian is forecast to reach Category 4 strength on Sunday morning as it continues toward the Bahamas, where a hurricane watch is already in effect in the northwest.
On Wednesday, Dorian slashed through the Caribbean, delivering more than half a foot of rain, but it largely missed Puerto Rico, parts of which still haven’t recovered from Hurricane Maria in 2017. Almost 3,000 people died because of that storm.
“Thank God we were not affected,” Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vazquez said Wednesday night. “All the determinations made in the last days were a real life exercise.”
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