The universe is going to kill Florida.

Last year in November I moved from sunny warm South Florida to freezing cold Northwestern Illinois. Thank goodness I got out there.

NPR - Florida Governor Declares State Of Emergency As Hurricane Dorian Moves North

August 28, 2019

Hurricane Dorian is predicted to strengthen into a Category 3 storm before reaching Florida's coast early Monday, the National Hurricane Center says

Tropical Storm Dorian officially became Hurricane Dorian on Wednesday, its sustained winds topping 80 mph hitting Puerto Rico and St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands before heading northwest. Forecasters are now warning that the storm will strengthen into a dangerous Category 3 hurricane as it nears the U.S. mainland.

"Dorian is moving toward the northwest near 13 mph (20 km/h), and this general motion is expected to continue through Friday. On this track, Dorian should move over the Atlantic well east of the southeastern and central Bahamas on Thursday and Friday," the National Hurricane Center said in its 8 p.m. ET report.

"All indications are that by this Labor Day weekend, a powerful hurricane will be near or over the Florida peninsula," the National Hurricane Center said at 5 p.m. ET.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for 26 counties in the path of the hurricane.

The eye of Hurricane Dorian was located about 60 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, as of Wednesday night.

"The Hurricane Warning for Vieques, Culebra, and the U.S. Virgin Islands has been discontinued," the National Hurricane Center report added. "The Hurricane Watch and Tropical Storm Warning for Puerto Rico have been discontinued."

Dorian caused only limited damage in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

"We're happy because there are no damages to report," Culebra Mayor William Solís told The Associated Press. He said only one community on his island lost power.

Dorian is expected to become a major hurricane (Category 3 and above) as it moves north of the Bahamas. The NHC's current predictions show Dorian's center hitting Florida's coast early Monday. But the Florida coast could see tropical-storm-force winds arrive as early as Saturday night.

The center currently predicts the storm will make landfall near an area that's roughly level with Orlando. But that potential location could shift drastically as the storm develops.

As meteorologist Philip Klotzbach notes, "The average date for the 1st Atlantic major hurricane is September 3."

The earliest projected effects of the winds of Hurricane Dorian

NHC Director Ken Graham cautioned that for Florida, even though Dorian is estimated to make landfall Monday morning, "the impacts could come a lot earlier than that," saying intense rain, tropical-storm-force winds and a storm surge could begin to affect the coastline far from the storm's center.

Acknowledging that considerable uncertainty remains over the path Dorian will take, Graham also said anyone on the southeastern U.S. coast from Florida up through Georgia and South Carolina should watch for potential hazards.

Earlier, President Trump had declared an emergency in the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, ordering the Federal Emergency Management Agency late Tuesday to provide "equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency."

Vázquez Garced thanked Trump for approving the declaration, saying it would "allow federal aid to arrive more quickly" after the storm passes.

In a statement about its preparations, FEMA said that its "stock on the island compared to 2017 levels includes three times as many generators, nine times as many meals, five times as many liters of water and 16 times as many blue tarps."

Meanwhile, the fifth named storm of the 2019 Atlantic season formed late Tuesday, as Tropical Storm Erin's winds reached 40 mph. The storm, which was several hundred miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., was downgraded to a tropical depression on Wednesday. Erin is expected to remain on a north-northeastern track, likely arriving at Canada's coast late this week.

NPR's Windsor Johnston contributed to this report.

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