# Tropical Storm Dorian May Hit Florida as Hurricane over the Weekend **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 28, 2019, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371 "2019-08-28T17:56:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/1 "2019-08-28T17:56:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Tropical Storm Dorian was hours away from thrashing the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Wednesday as it continued to gain strength, with forecasters predicting it could become a Category 3 hurricane by the time it hits Florida over the weekend. > > Dorian was forecast to become a hurricane later Wednesday and expected to move near the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, according to the National Hurricane Center. > > As of midmorning Wednesday, hurricane warnings were in effect for the U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico’s island municipalities of Vieques and Culebra. A hurricane watch and tropical storm warning were in effect for Puerto Rico. > > The hurricane center said the storm’s maximum sustained winds had increased to 70 mph with higher gusts, and forecast that Dorian could strengthen to a Category 3 hurricane as it nears Florida this weekend and early next week. Rainfall from the storm could cause 'life-threatening flash floods," according to the hurricane center. > **[Dorian heads for Florida, possibly as Category 3, after swiping Puerto Rico,...](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dorian-strengthens-it-threatens-puerto-rico-could-approach-florida-category-n1047206)** > > A Puerto Rico man died after he fell from a ladder while preparing his home for Hurricane Dorian, police said. Florida's governor declared a state of emergency. Anyone doing any preparations? ---
**Author:** ![Buttercup\_Smith](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buttercup_smith/32/473_2.png) [@Buttercup\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buttercup_Smith)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/2 "2019-08-28T18:37:21Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > [Dorian heads for Florida, possibly as Category 3, after swiping Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dorian-strengthens-it-threatens-puerto-rico-could-approach-florida-category-n1047206) > Anyone doing any preparations? I’m in the Keys and we dusted off the hurricane instructions on my job. Alas, it looks to be far north of us as this point. I hope it dissipates but not likely. It is a hurricane now. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/3 "2019-08-28T18:54:17Z")
I’m near Gainesville. We’ve got a generator and fuel. That’ll probably see us through. We’ve got the pole barn mostly sheathed with plywood, to protect the animals (chickens, goats, donkey, tiny horse). Food for all. However, the real worry is that trees will come down. There’s one right over the barn that we’ve been talking to different tree companies about, and I sure hope this isn’t the storm that ends it. We also have a lot of issues with flooding washing out our neighborhood access roads, plus a bunch of gators living in the already submerged cow pasture next door. So yeah, things are looking distinctly unshiny at this point. We’ll just have to hope for the best. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/4 "2019-08-28T18:57:14Z")
I think we’re going to get gas and some cash after work, but that’s the extent of it. You can tell it’s coming because it’s all anyone can talk about and it’s really annoying. Stupid thing isn’t even supposed to hit for another 4 or 5 days and everyone is talking like it’s going to hit tomorrow. Not to mention it’s not even a guarantee that Central Florida is even going to get hit. All I need is for it to hit on Sunday because that’ll mean the mall will be dead (or closed) during my shift and it’ll be gone by the time we have Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party on Monday night. Last I heard it was slowing down and might not hit until Monday, which would suuuuuuuccccckkkkkk ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/5 "2019-08-28T19:02:33Z")
Alligators and a hurricane you say? [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H6MLJG0RdDE](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H6MLJG0RdDE) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/6 "2019-08-28T19:22:11Z")
> [@pool](#): > > Alligators and a hurricane you say? > > [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H6MLJG0RdDE](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H6MLJG0RdDE) :eek: I’ll laugh when this is over. I used to _like_ storms when I was a kid…or at least until I started being responsible for the damage. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/7 "2019-08-28T19:26:32Z")
I’m down in Ft Myers which is at the outer edge of the cone at the moment. I will be gassing up after work and getting some cash tomorrow. Gonna be a wet weekend after a month of heavy-ish rain. So (minor) flooding in the streets. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/8 "2019-08-29T01:24:09Z")
Per the European Meteorological Office’s models, which I’ve found to be the most accurate of the GPS-HWRF-UKMET group, Palm Beach gets hit with a minor hurricane, but the real festivities don’t happen until the storm hits the Gulf, and smacks Tallahassee as a very powerful storm. See for yourself: [https://www.ecmwf.int/en/forecasts/charts/catalogue/medium-mslp-wind850?facets=Range,Medium%20(15%20days)&time=2019082812,0,2019082812&projection=classical\_north\_america](https://www.ecmwf.int/en/forecasts/charts/catalogue/medium-mslp-wind850?facets=Range,Medium%20(15%20days)&time=2019082812,0,2019082812&projection=classical_north_america) Fast forward to Wednesday or so. EDIT: The Gulf is a bathtub. There haven’t been any storms to pull off its heat energy. [Global Sea Temperatures](https://www.daculaweather.com/4_sea_temp.php) Any organized tropical storm that gets there, that doesn’t have shear or dry air to deal with, probably will intensify very rapidly. Like 3 or 4 categories in 24 hours rapidly, depending on eyewall replacement cycles and the like. Be careful. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/9 "2019-08-29T02:22:23Z")
> [@Buttercup\_Smith](#): > > It is a hurricane now. There’s a picture on the Weather Channel that still shows it as a tropical depression; how odd. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/10 "2019-08-29T02:40:01Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > :eek: I’ll laugh when this is over. > I used to _like_ storms when I was a kid…or at least until I started being responsible for the damage. They should call it\* Gatornado\* ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/11 "2019-08-29T11:30:57Z")
My inlaws live in Ocala, and with luck, the worst they’ll get is a lot of rain. I’m glad my daughter no longer lives in Orlando - it’s too nerve-wracking for me to fret about her long-distance. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/12 "2019-08-29T12:35:48Z")
In Orlando, follow the [Tom Terry Index](https://www.facebook.com/TomTerryWFTV/photos/someone-posted-this-meme-after-hurricane-hermine-lets-hope-the-jacket-stays-on-t/1409373289077344/). If the Channel 9 weather guy has his jacket on, it’s all right. Don’t panic until he’s got his shirtsleeves rolled up and his tie loosened. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/13 "2019-08-29T13:04:12Z")
And the storm keeps on making that curve bringing me further into the cone. Please stop curving! ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/14 "2019-08-29T13:08:08Z")
I’ve got relatives who just arrived in Dunedin. They recently bought a retirement property there. It’s on the gulf side so I guess they won’t get the brunt of the storm, but they are on/near the water. What can they likely to expect as far as storm impact? I doubt they have time to really prep because they only arrived in the past 24 hours. Should they just get back in the car and head out of the way for a while? ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/15 "2019-08-29T15:52:46Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > In Orlando, follow the [Tom Terry Index](https://www.facebook.com/TomTerryWFTV/photos/someone-posted-this-meme-after-hurricane-hermine-lets-hope-the-jacket-stays-on-t/1409373289077344/). If the Channel 9 weather guy has his jacket on, it’s all right. Don’t panic until he’s got his shirtsleeves rolled up and his tie loosened. Mr. Fear Monger? No, thank you. I’d rather sit in on Coffee Talks and listen to Tony Mainolfi. They tell you what’s going on without doom-and-gloom-ing ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/16 "2019-08-29T18:14:23Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I’ve got relatives who just arrived in Dunedin. They recently bought a retirement property there. It’s on the gulf side so I guess they won’t get the brunt of the storm, but they are on/near the water. What can they likely to expect as far as storm impact? I doubt they have time to really prep because they only arrived in the past 24 hours. Should they just get back in the car and head out of the way for a while? Errr, maybe. After the storm crosses Florida and gets into the Gulf, it will strengthen and we don’t know yet where it will go. If I were them, I’d go introduce myself to the neighbors and see what they have to say about it. I’d rather it stay further south, myself, as I have folks in Palatka. (Sorry, **Hypno-Toad** ). ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/17 "2019-08-29T19:07:21Z")
The late Th AM [model](https://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/atlantic/2019/hurricane-dorian?map=model) runs are now converging on Dorian turning once over FL or shortly after reaching the gulf and heading back NE. It’s going to be wet in N FL/S GA. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/18 "2019-08-29T19:11:37Z")
I’m on the westcoast of the state, and the east coast of a peninsula, so lots of water on all sides. People are losing their damned minds here but I think we’re going to be fine. I allowed myself to get all freaked out over Irma a couple of years ago (last year?)and I didn’t so much as lose power (it was a gnarly storm but nothing worse than what we often get). ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/19 "2019-08-29T19:13:03Z")
I’m nowhere near there but my wishes go out for the safety of everyone there. Even I’m affected in a very minimal way as I have a mail order that according to the tracking info is currently sitting in the USPS Miami distribution center. Hope it makes it out in time! I imagine at some point there will be no flights in or out of Miami for a while. It’s interesting looking at a flight tracking application during an event like this and seeing a great big empty no-flight zone in the middle of the crowded skies. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371/20 "2019-08-30T00:55:46Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > [Dorian heads for Florida, possibly as Category 3, after swiping Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dorian-strengthens-it-threatens-puerto-rico-could-approach-florida-category-n1047206) > > Anyone doing any preparations? I have family in the central Florida area and they are all well-prepared. Heck, some of them have now lived in Florida longer than I did; they’re all seasoned pros by now. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tropical-storm-dorian-may-hit-florida-as-hurricane-over-the-weekend/839371.md?page=2)