'It Can Be Stressful Watching A Major Hurricane Like Dorian': CBS4 Meteorologist Dave Warren On What's Next
MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Dorian remains a powerful category 4 hurricane with wind reaching 150 mph on Saturday afternoon.
The latest forecast has the storm slowing down Sunday night and early Monday as it approaches the Florida coast before turning north.
"It can definitely be stressful watching a major hurricane like Dorian less than 500 miles off the coast and moving west," says CBS4 Meteorologist Dave Warren. "Even though the forecasts are in agreement that it will turn, you still have to prepare until that does happen."
As expected, the storm intensified and slowed its movement north. It is now moving west-northwest and continues to slowly gain latitude while approaching the coast.
"The next turn will be to the north and away from us," says Warren. "The thing to do now is to look at the model forecasts which are in good agreement of the turn to make sure it will still happen and to get an idea where."
Even a small distance closer to or farther away from the coast can lead to significant changes in what is experienced there. Tropical storm force winds extended outward over 100 miles from the center which can also mean the storm can be well offshore and you're still getting wind which may lead to damage and power outages.
The updated forecast track as of Saturday at 11:00 a.m. has the forecast track north of both Miami-Dade and Broward County.
"As the storm gets closer, the forecast becomes less uncertain so the track cone gets smaller," explains Warren. "But with a larger storm the tropical storm force wind can actually extend beyond the cone at some point."
It is not only important to know where you are in relation to the storm, but also what the storm dangers are to you given your location compared to it.
The storm is expected to continue moving west until Monday.
It is at that point it will be closest to South Florida before turning north and moving away.
"Given the slower speed it is safe to say you have an extra day to prepare Saturday, but be ready to do your final preparations Sunday if it looks like the storm will be close enough to your area to warrant them, says Warren.
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