Credit: Photo via NOAA

Credit: Photo via NOAA

Tampa Bay is now in Dorian’s five day forecast cone, as the tropical storm is expected to hit Puerto Rico Wednesday as a Category 1 hurricane, and impact parts of Central Florida by Sunday.

According to Tuesday’s 11 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center, Dorian is moving 13 miles per hour roughly 15 miles west-northwest of St. Lucia, and carrying maximum sustained winds of 50 mph.

As of now, Tropical Storm Dorian is expected to arrive in South Florida by late Saturday. 

It’s important to remember that neither Dorian’s exact path or intensity are certain at this time, but the NHC said the storm is expected to intensify over the next few days.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to check your hurricane kit, but at the very least prepare to get wet. 

As of now, Hispaniola is preparing for impact within the next couple days, and Puerto Rico is currently under a hurricane watch, where rainfall of 2 to 4 inches with maximum totals of 6 inches are very possible. 

A tropical storm warning is in effect for Martinique, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. 

“On the forecast track, the center of Dorian will move across the eastern and northeastern Caribbean Sea during the next few days, passing near or south of Puerto Rico on Wednesday, move near or over eastern Hispaniola Wednesday night, and move north of Hispaniola on Thursday,” said the NHC in the advisory.

As Dorian moves across the eastern Caribbean Sea, the storm is expected to become a hurricane by Tuesday or Wednesday, and then track northwest across the Bahamas Saturday night.

“The threat of winds and heavy rains later this week into this weekend in the Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas, and Florida is increasing,” said the NHC. “Residents in these areas should monitor the progress of Dorian and ensure that they have their hurricane plan in place.”

In a tweet Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis called for East Coast residents in Florida to start preparing for Dorian. “Based on the current track of #TropicalStormDorian, all residents on the East Coast should prepare for impacts, including strong winds, heavy rain and flooding,” said DeSantis. “Make sure to have your supplies ready and follow @FLSERT (the Florida Division of Emergency Management) and local media for the latest updates on the forecast.”



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This article appears in Aug 22-29, 2019.

Colin Wolf has been working with weekly newspapers since 2007 and has been the Digital Editor for Creative Loafing Tampa since 2019. He is also the Director of Digital Content Strategy for CL's parent...