Hurricane Dorian: Stock up now, Sarasota emergency director says

Aug. 29--SARASOTA -- Although Southwest Florida may dodge the bullet from a Labor Day hurricane, "Don't wait for the shelves to be empty," suggests a disaster preparedness official.

"It looks like it's taking a turn to the north," said Sarasota County Emergency Management Services Director Ed McCrane, "but we're approaching peak hurricane season, and if Dorian doesn't hit us, there'll be another one right behind it."

>> READ MORE: Complete hurricane coverage

Hurricane Dorian skirted the east side of Puerto Rico on Wednesday before continuing its northwesterly track across the warm waters of the Caribbean. Forecasts indicate Dorian will become a major hurricane -- with minimum winds of at least 110 mph -- when it reaches Florida's east central coast on Monday.

McCrane says his agency has been in contact with city and county partners for emergency contingencies and "we should be good. But we're prepared for the worst." He said area residents should already have secured emergency provisions -- water, batteries, perishables, etc. -- two months deep into storm season.

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"The key is to stay alert," he says. "It's one thing to follow The Weather Channel, but you really need to listen to your local meteorologist because they're on top of how we'll be impacted here."

In response to Dorian, the Coast Guard Captain of the Port of St. Petersburg ordered "Port Condition Whiskey" for the ports of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Manatee. This action opens port facilities to all commercial traffic and cargo transfer operations at Coast Guard regulated facilities.

The Coast Guard reminds mariners that there are no safe havens in these facilities. All ocean-going commercial vessels greater than 500 gross tons should make plans to depart the port no later than the setting of "Port Condition Yankee."

>> READ MORE: Hurricane Dorian: Florida under state of emergency, Dorian to likely be Category 3

Condition Whiskey is issued when gale force winds are expected to arrive within 72 hours; X-ray within 48 hours, Yankee within 24 hours, and Zulu within 12 hours. The port is closed at Zulu.

Recreational boaters are advised to seek safe harbor.

The weather impact in the Sarasota-Bradenton is conditional based on the location of the storm in Florida, which won't be known for days.

"The cone extends to Jacksonville and Savannah," SNN-TV meteorologist Marco La Manno said. "This isn't guaranteed to give us hurricane-force anything."

Weather experts have a couple of ideas of what to expect when the storm makes its approach Monday, potentially as a hurricane.

>> RELATED: Hurricane resources for Sarasota and Manatee Counties

"It's going to depend partly how far north or south this goes," La Manno said. "If the center is north of us, even if it's Tampa, we would see very close, hurricane-force winds. But the right-front quadrant would be away from us."

The strongest winds in a hurricane are found on the right side -- the dirty side -- of the storm, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Heavy rainfall, and the threat of flooding, is found on the left side.

"I would rather this hug the north side of the cone than the south," says La Manno, adding, "because that would keep the precipitation away from us."

>> READ MORE: Lakewood Ranch-Lemon Bay game moved to Thursday because of Hurricane Dorian

As of Wednesday evening, Dorian was moving northwest at 13 mph with hurricane strength winds. The storm had passed east of Puerto Rico as a Category 1 hurricane and was expected to intensify as it approaches the East Coast of Florida sometime Monday.

"Right now I'd rather people prepare for a major hurricane," La Manno said. "A lot of the models are saying a big storm is coming in. I'm getting my essentials today."

"We're monitoring Dorian closely and urging the public to do the same," stated Nicholas Azzara, Manatee County Information Outreach Director. "Our Emergency Management group is having regular calls and webinars with state and NWS officials to understand the latest. Because the storm is moving relatively slowly, it's too early to tell what local impacts might be. Tomorrow our Public Works Department will be announcing whether sandbags will be available, based on where Dorian tracks over the next 18 hours.

"The message we stress now is to be ready for any weather by making sure you have a family preparedness plan and storm supplies on hand. MyManatee.org/ManateeReady has tons of information on what people can do to prepare a disaster plan and disaster kit."

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