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Hurricane Dorian images from space show strengthening in Caribbean

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Across the Caribbean this week, island residents docked boats, emptied grocery stores, and boarded up buildings in preparation for Hurricane Dorian, which became a Category 1 storm on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, high up in Earth’s orbit, satellites belonging to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) watched the hurricane form and churn.

The storm has passed Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and is now over open waters, where the National Hurricane Center (NHC) expects Dorian to gain strength. The storm’s expected path shows it heading toward Florida, where it could make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on Monday.

Tropical Storm Dorian is pictured off the coast of Venezuela.
NASA / Handout / Reuters

Dorian passed near the islands of Barbados and St. Lucia on Tuesday night as a tropical storm.

Barbados residents piled sand to prevent flooding and rushed to supermarkets to purchase supplies. Parts of Barbados lost power, and boats on St. Lucia filled with water, but the islands emerged relatively unscathed.

By Wednesday morning, satellites revealed the storm’s cloud pattern becoming more organized.

The NHC upgraded Dorian to a hurricane on Wednesday afternoon as it passed over the US Virgin Islands, with wind speeds of 74 mph.

Tropical Storm Dorian, before it became a hurricane, is shown in this photo taken by NASA’s Aqua satellite MODIS instrument as it moved over the Leeward Islands, continuing its track into the Eastern Caribbean Sea, August 27, 2019.
NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)/Handout via Reuters

After the NHC issued a hurricane watch for Puerto Rico, the territory’s new governor, Wanda Vázquez Garced, declared a state of emergency and made 360 shelters available to people who still have damaged roofs from Hurricane Maria. For the most part, however, the storm spared Puerto Rico.

By Wednesday evening, Hurricane Dorian had developed a definitive eye, the NHC said.

NASA GOES-East

“All indications are that by this Labor Day weekend, a powerful hurricane will be near the Florida or southeastern coast of the United States,” the NHC said in a statement.

Dorian could bring 4 to 8 inches of rainfall to coastal areas of the southeastern US, with up to 12 inches in some locations. This rain could cause “life-threatening” flash floods, the NHC said.

Hurricane Dorian moved over open Atlantic waters Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
NOAA GOES-East

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency on Wednesday.

“It’s important for Floridians on the East Coast to monitor this storm closely. Every Florida resident should have seven days of supplies, including food, water and medicine, and should have a plan in case of disaster,” DeSantis said in a release. “The state stands ready to support all counties along the coast as they prepare.”

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