Video shows plane passing near Dorian’s eye

A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plane flew near the eye of Hurricane Dorian as it was churning in the Caribbean on Thursday, August 29.

A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plane flew near the eye of Hurricane Dorian as it was churning in the Caribbean on Thursday, August 29.

Weather forecasters stress that Miami-Dade and Broward residents should keep a close eye on menacing Hurricane Dorian over the next few days but — for now, at least — they are predicting much milder impacts than along the coast to the north.

So expect to see lots of rain, some strong winds but also not to lose your roof.

That can change — if the message isn’t clear yet — if there are shifts overnight in the Category 5 hurricane’s track.

“No, Miami-Dade and Broward aren’t in the cone right now but that doesn’t mean it can’t change. It isn’t set in stone,” said Baxter Fell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami. “People are focusing on the cone too much and on Dorian’s track. We are are urging them to not focus on the cone and track, but rather on the impact and on the uncertainty. Any minor shift to the west could be a very substantial impact on South Florida.”

Meteorologists at the National Weather Service said Sunday that if Dorian’s track remains the same, the region can expect lots of rain and possible tropical storm force wind gusts — from 39 to 74 mph — on Monday and Tuesday. Isolated tornadoes and flooding are also possible. The coastal and Metro areas of Broward County were under a tropical storm watch. Miami-Dade didn’t have any advisories.

Wind gusts in Miami-Dade along the coast are expected to reach 20 to 45 mph and anywhere from 20 to 40 mph elsewhere in the county Monday afternoon through Tuesday evening. In Broward, coastal winds can range anywhere from 25 to 45 mph and anywhere from 20 to 45 mph elsewhere from Monday night into Wednesday morning.

Both county coasts have the potential to flood as scattered thunderstorms intertwine with Dorian’s outer bands. Rain will be on the increase starting Sunday night and continue into the end of the workweek.

“[There is] significant wind impact possible from Lake Okeechobee to Broward County,” federal forecasters said in a 5 p.m. statement. “[There’s] limited wind impact elsewhere across South Florida and isolated tornadoes will be possible. “

Forget about boating. All coastal waters in Miami-Dade and Broward are under a tropical storm watch and the outer waters are under a tropical storm warning. The Monday forecast for the Atlantic off Miami Beach was 12 foot seas, occasionally reaching 19 feet.

“It’s definitely not recommended to be out on the waters right now,” Fell said.

Experts also say its not impossible for residents of the two counties to lose power.

In 2017, nearly 4.5 million of FPL’s 4.9 million customers lost power during Hurricane Irma —which did not make landfall in the two counties — for a week or more. In Miami-Dade 92 percent of account holders lost electricity while 85 percent of households lost power in Broward.

Monique O. Madan covers immigration and enterprise; she previously covered breaking news and local government. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald and The Dallas Morning News. She is currently a Reveal Fellow at the Center for Investigative Reporting. She graduated from Miami Dade College and Emerson College in Boston. A note to tipsters: If you want to send Monique confidential information, her email and mailbox are open. The address is 3511 NW 91st Ave, Doral, FL 33172. You can also direct message her on social media and she’ll provide encrypted Signal details.





Source link