NOAA Hurricane Dorian: Terrible Disaster! The Latest Updates and Facts
Hurricane Dorian 2019 NOAA was a powerful tropical cyclone with an epicenter off the Atlantic coast of the United States in 2019. Hurricane Dorian has been assigned the maximum, fifth “catastrophic” category on the hurricane scale.
NOAA Hurricane Dorian Overview
Maximum wind speeds were up to 190 mph, and in some cases exceeded 210 mph. This powerful tropical cyclone hit the Bahamas the worst and is considered the worst natural disaster in the nation’s history. In the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season, hurricane Dorian NOAA was the 4th named storm, and, in terms of power, the first major natural disaster.
NOAA Hurricane Dorian Path
The storm formed on Grand Bahama on Sunday, September 1, 2019, and after moving 9 miles toward the U.S. coast, the track of the hurricane Dorian NOAA stopped. Over a 24-hour period, the Bahamas received between 60 and 89 cm of rainfall, 13,000 homes (45% of the buildings on Abacos Islands and Grand Bahama) were flooded, and the maximum wind speed reached 190 mph. This made hurricane Dorian NOAA to be updated the strongest hurricane in Bahamian history.
The hurricane was rated fifth, the highest category on the Saffir-Simpson scale. There was a high atmospheric pressure zone to the east of the hurricane, which shifted the hurricane toward Florida, which also had an anticyclone on its side, causing NOAA hurricane Dorian track to “hang” over the Bahamas for more than a day. As a result of stormy rains and a 16-19 feet high tide, the coastal areas of the island were flooded. The Bahamas International Airport was submerged seven meters deep.
The maximum wind speed was recorded on Tuesday, September 2, 2019, reached 90 mph, and was assigned a category three on the scale. A state of emergency and coastal evacuations were declared in the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina on September 2. As of September 4, the hurricane was 111 mph off the coast of Florida and was moving at 7-8 feet per second in a northwesterly direction. According to the hurricane tracker Dorian by NOAA, by 9 a.m. local time on September 6, Dorian had reached Cape Hatteras, with wind speeds in its center reaching 90 mph. By September 7, Hurricane Dorian reached the coast of North Carolina in the United States.
The wind speed of the NOAA Dorian hurricane reached over 120 mph. Lastly, the hurricane has hit the Canadian mainland. By September 8 the hurricane reached the Atlantic coast of Canada, the provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick. The last two were the least affected. The hurricane Dorian tracker by NOAA showed that the power of the hurricane decreased to a category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. After that, following the NOAA hurricane Dorian updates, the natural phenomena had weakened and disappeared.
Impact of the Dorian Hurricane NOAA on the Bahamas
For more than a day, NOAA hurricane Dorian 2019 continued to crush the Bahamas. According to meteorologists, about 60 cm of rain fell there in 24 hours, and the maximum wind speed reached 55 m/s. What’s surprising is that the storm sort of hovered over the islands, almost reaching Florida, and practically stopped moving. Usually, hurricanes come and go – literally in a matter of hours. But here it went nowhere for 24 hours.
Hurricane Dorian track NOAA has stuck over the Bahamas and has taken many lives. While standing over the Bahamas, the hurricane weakened somewhat, but it also grew noticeably. As scientists explained such behavior of the hurricane Dorian model NOAA, this happens only with the strongest hurricanes. The wind at its center reaches such a strength that the vortex can’t hold and begins to collapse from above, causing the storm to lose strength but increase in diameter. And this means that the area of possible destruction increases. In addition, due to such NOAA hurricane Dorian model, it became difficult to predict the further movement of the storm.
Hurricane Dorian took the most lives on Abacos Island. The first to die was a 7-year-old boy. The child drowned when his family tried to escape the disaster. In addition, the minor’s sister was missing (according to the latest hurricane Dorian update NOAA, the rescue team has found her alive). This hurricane was unprecedented because many homes and infrastructure of towns and villages were completely or partially destroyed.
According to the UN, almost 100,000 people in the Bahamas were in urgent need of life-saving assistance at the time. Those affected needed drinking water, food, medicine, and temporary shelter. About 50 people, including children, died in the Bahamas as a result of the disaster. Unfortunately, the hurricane Dorian path NOAA has not ended.
Impact of the Hurricane NOAA Dorian on the USA
Immediately after the Bahamas, a hurricane hit the United States. On August 27, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a decree declaring a state of emergency in Puerto Rico due to the approach of the NOAA hurricane Dorian tracker. Within a week, the states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina declared a state of emergency. The authorities of Virginia imposed a state of emergency, as the hurricane could affect parts of the state.
The U.S. president canceled his visit to Poland, which was to take place from August 31 to September 2. Trump also warned that Dorian could become one of the strongest hurricanes to hit the United States. Evacuations have been declared in the Bahamas, Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia, among others. About 148,500 Florida residents have been ordered to evacuate St. John’s County, beginning at 08:00 on September 2.
The estimated damage from Hurricane Dorian could range from $40 billion to $80 billion. This forecast was made by analysts of UBS Group. Experts believe that the natural disaster will be “the most expensive” in recent years. Analysts couldn’t name exact figures until Dorian hit the coast of Florida. Immediately after the disaster struck the state where NASA and Air Force spaceports and launch pads and SpaceX sites are located, scientists were able to give a rough estimate of the disaster.
The most costly natural disaster in U.S. history before this terrible hurricane was Hurricane Katrina, which struck the country in 2005. As a result, New Orleans was flooded. The damage caused was estimated at $108 billion.
What Was in Canada?
On September 7, 2019, strong hurricane-force winds began in Nova Scotia. The epicenter of the hurricane itself passed over the small town of Halifax. Prince Edward Island was also hit, where light tropical storms were felt. As early as the next day, 90 percent of Nova Scotia residents were left without power. According to news reports, the storm tore roofs off houses and flooded streets and homes. Canada announced local evacuations of residents and important government businesses. The heaviest rainfall was in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. There, 170 mm of rain fell. Other Nova Scotia towns also recorded record rainfall of 130 mm.
Is It Global Warming?
The very fact that “Dorian” hovered over the Bahamas for more than 24 hours almost motionless is the result of a surprising coincidence and has little to do directly with climate change. At the same time, recent joint work by NASA and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has shown that hurricanes in the North Atlantic have moved more slowly over the past 70 years – which means the storm can hang over a single land area longer.
At the same time, various studies show that due to rising average temperatures in temperate latitudes, hurricanes in the North Atlantic are, on average, gaining more power every year. Many scientists, however, are cautious and argue that we cannot yet speak of a direct cause-and-effect relationship, because even a few abnormal years in a row can generally remain the exception to the rule. After all, hurricanes, for example, have not become more frequent.