Hurricane Dorian now Category 5 with 160 mph winds, Orlando back in cone; tropical storm warnings issued for Florida

Sep. 1--Hurricane Dorian on Sunday grew into a Category 5 hurricane with 160 mph winds as it bears down on the Bahamas. The latest path also shifted slightly west so more of Central Florida is in the cone of uncertainty.

As of 8 a.m., the National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning from Deerfield Beach up to Sebastian Inlet and a tropical storm watch from Deerfield Beach south to Golden Beach.

While the projected consensus path has the storm staying offshore, the three-day cone of uncertainty jogged somewhat more inland overnight to now include all of metro Orlando including Walt Disney World.

"Dangerous Dorian is currently moving into the Bahamas. Central Floridians need to be prepared and vigilant as we are not in the clear," said WOFL-Fox 35 meteorologist Jayme King. "While there has been a shift in the forecast modeling and the official NHC track, there is still uncertainty in the actual effects on Central Florida."

Hurricane Dorian is located 35 miles east of Great Abaco Island and 225 miles east of West Palm Beach and still headed west at 8 mph.

The hurricane hit 160 mph becoming Category 5, and is expected to have gusts up to 190 mph before slamming into the northern Bahamas including the Abaco islands and Grand Bahama Island. Hurricane-force winds extend out 30 miles with tropical storm-force winds extending out 105 miles.

-- Hurricane Dorian News

Hurricane Dorian: Live updates from around Florida

By Richard Tribou, Todd Stewart, Ricky Pinela, Tiffini Theisen, Mark Skoneki, Kathleen Christiansen and Lynnette Cantos

Aug 31, 2019 -- 9:52 AM

"We're keeping the Bahamas in our prayers," said Sen. Rick Scott on Twitter this morning. "It still has the potential to bring devastating winds & storm surge to Florida. Make sure you and your family are prepared today. Listen to local officials on safety measures and warnings."

The forecast calls for the storm to slow down after today and make the shift from west to northwest and eventually turn to the northeast and threaten Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

The current track, though, keeps the storm within striking distance of Florida's east coast, projected to be a Category 4 hurricane with sustained 140 mph winds and 165 mph gusts off the coast of Palm Beach County by late Monday, and then begin its shift to the northwest skirting the coast adjacent to Brevard County all day Tuesday so it's off Cape Canaveral by 2 a.m. Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane with 115 mph sustained winds.

The hurricane center warned of battering waves and significant water runup along the coast, damaging winds and flooding rain.

"The latest track shows Dorian making that turn to the North late Monday into Tuesday, which will bring a major hurricane very close to the East Central Florida coastline," said WOFL-Fox 35 meteorologist Kristin Giannas. "Residents should expect tropical storm-force wind gusts and periods of heavy rain as we go through the day Wednesday. While the official track forecast does not show landfall, all of East Central Florida remains in the cone of uncertainty -- so landfall is still a distinct possibility."

Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis warned that Dorian is a "dangerous storm" and said any "who do not evacuate are placing themselves in extreme danger and can expect a catastrophic consequence."

Small skiffs shuttled Saturday between outlying fishing communities and McLean's Town, a settlement of a few dozen homes at the eastern end of Grand Bahama island, about 150 miles from Florida's Atlantic coast. Most people came from Sweeting Cay, a fishing town of a few hundred people about 5 feet above sea level.

"We're not taking no chances," said Margaret Bassett, a ferry boat driver for the Deep Water Cay resort. "They said evacuate, you have to evacuate."

But Jack Pittard, an American who has been traveling to the Bahamas for some 40 years, said he has decided to ride out the storm in The Abaco Islands. He said it's the first hurricane he will experience in his life.

"There's fear," he said in a phone interview Sunday morning as the eyewall approached the islands. "I'm worried about destruction of property, but I don't believe there's going to be loss of lives here."

Pittard said he battened up his house and is spending the storm in a nearby duplex behind a group of cottages that a friend owns. He noted the ocean is quite deep near where he's staying, and there's a cay that provides protection, so he doesn't expect significant storm surge.

"I'm not afraid of dying here," he said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday cautioned that the storm paths will continue to change and that Florida residents need to be wary.

"There is still significant chance of a strike on the state of Florida," DeSantis said during a briefing at the Emergency Operations Center. "Anyone inside of that cone needs to be prepared."

State emergency operation officials said they could use the experience of Hurricane Matthew, a storm that appeared set for a direct hit on Florida in 2016 before rolling up the east coast, as a model while preparing for Dorian's impact.

DeSantis said he's monitoring traffic patterns to see if highways get clogged as a result of evacuation orders.

In addition to President Trump, DeSantis had calls with the Governors of Georgia and South Carolina on Saturday, as well as local government officials, legislators and NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine.

The path has shifted several times since Thursday with projected landfalls suggesting it would slam into Florida as far south as West Palm Beach and as far north as Flagler Beach. Its path all day Friday had it targeting Orlando, but the various computer models kept shifting the path farther east.

Saturday's overall shift in where the storm was predicted to go, though, had some dialing back their levels of alert.

Orlando International Airport, which had previously planned to close at 2 a.m. Monday, changed course and now plans to remain open while officials keep an eye on the storm, according to a statement.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, though, said he's not taking any chances despite the fluctuating forecast.

"We are cautiously optimistic based upon the most recent track of the storm," Demings said during an update Saturday outside the Emergency Operations Center in Winter Park. "However, we still have the responsibility to ensure that, should the storm track change, we are ready and prepared to deal with whatever the impacts may be in Central Florida here."

SunRail still plans to be shut down all week, and Amtrak has canceled multiple trains through Tuesday. Lynx hasn't announced any cancellations, but its buses will not run in sustained winds of 35 mph or more.

Brevard County is set to begin mandatory evacuations from its barrier islands on Monday, DeSantis said, and other counties will have voluntary or partial evacuations, including Osceola, Martin, Glades and Hendry counties. But as the forecast tracks shift, evacuation orders may change, DeSantis said.

On Friday, every Central Florida school system canceled classes for Tuesday, as did area colleges and universities.

Staff writers Tess Sheets, Dave Harris, Gray Rohrer, Stephen Hudak, Roger Simmons, Matt Palm and The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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