ALERT #41 ON HURRICANE DORIAN ISSUED BY THE BAHAMAS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY AT 9:00 PM EDT, MONDAY, 2ND SEPTEMBER 2019.

…EXTREMELY POWERFUL HURRICANE DORIAN REMAINS STATIONARY AND CONTINUES TO PUMMEL GRAND BAHAMA ISLAND…

A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS WHICH INCLUDES: ABACO, GRAND BAHAMA, BIMINI, AND THE BERRY ISLANDS.

A HURRICANE WARNING MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE BEING EXPERIENCED OR COULD BE EXPERIENCED IN THE MENTIONED ISLANDS WITHIN 36 HOURS.

AT 9PM EDT, THE EYE OF HURRICANE DORIAN WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 26.8 DEGREES NORTH AND LONGITUDE 78.4 DEGREES WEST.  THIS POSITION PUTS THE EYE OF DORIAN ABOUT 25 MILES NORTHEAST OF FREEPORT, GRAND BAHAMA, OR 106 MILES NORTH-NORTHEAST OF BIMINI AND 138 MILES NORTH-NORTHWEST OF NEW PROVIDENCE.

DORIAN REMAINS NEARLY STATIONARY JUST NORTH OF GRAND BAHAMA.  A SLOW WEST-NORTHWESTWARD MOTION IS EXPECTED TO RESUME OVERNIGHT AND CONTINUE INTO EARLY TUESDAY. A TURN TOWARDS THE NORTHWEST IS FORECAST BY LATE TUESDAY WITH A NORTHEASTWARD MOTION FORECAST TO BEGIN ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT. ON THIS TRACK, THE CORE OF EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HURRICANE DORIAN WILL CONTINUE TO POUND GRAND BAHAMA ISLAND INTO TUESDAY MORNING. THE HURRICANE WILL THEN MOVE DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO THE FLORIDA EAST COAST LATE TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING AND THEN MOVE DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO THE GEORGIA AND SOUTH CAROLINAS COAST ON WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY. 

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 140 MILES PER HOUR WITH HIGHER GUSTS.  DORIAN IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SCALE. ALTHOUGH GRADUAL WEAKENING IS FORECAST, DORIAN IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN A POWERFUL HURRICANE DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 45 MILES FROM THE CENTER AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 150 MILES FROM THE CENTER.

THE BAHAMAS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY’S DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR IN NEW PROVIDENCE AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HURRICANE MODELS INDICATE THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE IN GRAND BAHAMA THROUGH TONIGHT WITH STRONG FEEDER BANDS CONTINUING TO IMPACT THE ABACOS.  WITHIN THESE FEEDER BANDS THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF TORNADIC ACTIVITY. RESIDENTS IN BIMINI AND THE BERRY ISLANDS WILL CONTINUE TO BE IMPACTED BY TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS TONIGHT. 

SINCE DORIAN IS SLOW-MOVING ACROSS THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS, A LIFE THREATENING STORM SURGE WILL RAISE WATER LEVELS BY AS MUCH AS 18 TO 23 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS ALONG THE EASTERN, NORTHERN AND WESTERN SHORES OF ABACO AND THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN SHORES OF GRAND BAHAMA THROUGH TUESDAY. 

DORIAN IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE 6 TO 12 INCHES ACROSS THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS UP TO 30 INCHES; IN THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES WILL OCCUR WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS TO 6 INCHES.  FLOODING CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN SEVERAL AREAS ON THE ISLANDS OF NEW PROVIDENCE, ELEUTHERA, ANDROS, EXUMA, CAT ISLAND, AND LONG ISLAND. 

MARINERS ARE ADVISED TO REMAIN IN PORT AS LARGE TO DANGEROUS SWELLS ARE LIKELY.

THE NEXT ALERT ON HURRICANE DORIAN WILL BE ISSUED AT 12AM, TUESDAY  3RDSEPTEMBER 2019.

PREPARED BY: GREGORY D THOMPSON/IAN V McKENZIE