NC in State of Emergency as Hurricane Dorian Set to Thrash SE Coast

RALEIGH – Hurricane Dorian may still be stalled, wreaking havoc on the Bahamas, but it’s expected path has officials, residents, and tourists on the move. Governor Roy Cooper declared a State of Emergency relaxing regulations to aid preparation and preparing resources to deploy before or after the storm hits.

Hurricane Dorian, still a Category 3 and sitting over top the Bahamas after matching records for the strongest ever Atlantic basin storm, is poised to turn up the south east coast and threaten communities along the way. It could conceivably stay offshore on a track that eventually puts it over the Outer Banks later this week, possibly still as a Category 2 storm.

From ABC11:

“Dorian is expected to continue moving Tuesday and will pick up speed into Wednesday and Thursday–moving up the East Coast from Florida to Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. […]

Dorian will be off the North Carolina coast Thursday night or Friday morning. The good news is the storm will be picking up speed, so it will not stay in the Carolinas for long. It should have moved off by Friday evening. […]

Even weakened, the storm could bring heavy rain and strong wind to coastal regions all along the East Coast of the United States.

Coastal flooding and beach erosion is likely in North Carolina. The state could see between an inch and six inches of rain, depending on the ultimate track of the storm.”

Many of you have asked about rainfall totals. There’s a wide variance on the models. Less NW, More SE. And notice how small of an area they vary across. A shift by #Dorian one way or the other, and that heavy rain line shifts with it… #AModelIsNotAForecast pic.twitter.com/DA3nwf0bez

— Don Schwenneker (@BigweatherABC11) September 3, 2019

Gas stations were in heavy use on the North Carolina coast as residents prepared and Labor Day vacationers packed up and got out of Dodge. Eastern North Carolina has had its fair share of hurricane destruction the last several years, and area businesses and families certainly don’t need another dose just one year after Hurricane Florence.

With any luck the Bermuda High takes a wobble and Dorian takes the turn out to sea sparing the Carolinas yet another September surprise.