ALERT #45 ON HURRICANE DORIAN ISSUED BY THE BAHAMAS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY AT 9:00 AM EDT, TUESDAY, 3RD SEPTEMBER 2019.
THE EYE OF HURRICANE DORIAN IS BEGINNING TO INCH NORTHWESTWARD AWAY FROM GRAND BAHAMA ISLAND
MEANWHILE, THE SOUTHERN EYE WALL OF DORIAN CONTINUES TO POUND GRAND BAHAMA
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 8AM EDT, THE EYE OF HURRICANE DORIAN WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 27.1 DEGREES NORTH AND LONGITUDE 78.4 DEGREES WEST. THIS POSITION PUTS THE EYE OF DORIAN ABOUT 40 MILES NORTHEAST OF FREEPORT, GRAND BAHAMA, 125 MILES NORTH-NORTHEAST OF BIMINI, AND 156 MILES NORTH-NORTHWEST OF NEW PROVIDENCE.
DORIAN IS BEGINNING TO MOVE NORTHWESTWARD AT ABOUT 1 MILE-PER-HOUR. A SLIGHTLY FASTER MOTION TOWARD THE NORTHWEST OR NORTH-NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTH IS FORECAST BY WEDNESDAY EVENING, FOLLOWED BY A TURN TO THE NORTH-NORTHEAST THURSDAY MORNING. ON THIS TRACK, THE CORE OF EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HURRICANE DORIAN WILL GRADUALLY MOVE NORTH OF GRAND BAHAMA ISLAND THROUGH THIS EVENING.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 120 MILES PER HOUR WITH HIGHER GUSTS. DORIAN IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SCALE. 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 160 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 TODAY. IN ADDITION, OUR DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR IS ALSO SHOWING INTENSE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH FEEDER BANDS OVER THE ISANDS OF ANDROS, NEW PROVIDENCE, THE EXUMAS, CAT ISLAND AND NEIGHBOURING CAYS.
SINCE DORIAN IS SLOW-MOVING ACROSS THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS, A LIFE THREATHENING STORM SURGE WILL RAISE WATER LEVELS BY AS MUCH AS 10 TO 15 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS IN AREAS OF ONSHORE WINDS ON GRAND BAHAMA ISLAND. NEAR THE COAST THE SURGE WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE AND DESTRUCTIVE WAVES. WATER LEVELS SHOULD VERY SLOWLY SUBSIDE ON ABACO ISLAND TODAY.
DORIAN IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 6 INCHES ACROSS THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS UP TO 30 INCHES; RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS IS EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM 1 TO 3 INCHES, 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 AFFECTING THE NORTHWESTERN BAHAMAS.
PREPARED BY: JEFFREY SIMMONS
