Hurricane Dorian Strengthens to Category 4, Heads Toward Carolinas

Hurricane Dorian is now a Category 4 storm and will is now expected to make landfall in the Carolinas, potentially missing Florida.

Dorian shifted notably overnight, the National Hurricane Center announced Saturday morning. The storm could still make landfalls along Florida’s coast, according to the hurricane center. It became a Category 4 storm Friday evening.

“There’s been a notable change overnight to the forecast of #Dorian after Tuesday,” the hurricane center tweeted Saturday morning. “It should be stressed that the new forecast track does not preclude Dorian making landfall on the Florida coast, as large portions of the coast remain in the track cone of uncertainty.”

The chances of “storm winds and life-threatening storm surge” is now higher along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina for next week, the hurricane center added.

A Category 4 hurricane is the second-highest classification. The storm can bring maximum winds of up to 145 mph, CNN reported.

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned Floridians Saturday that the danger of the storm is still there. Parts of Florida are in a state of emergency as Dorian heads towards landfall. Broward County has issued a mandatory evacuation beginning Sunday, DeSantis added.

“As you’re looking at these forecasts, a bump in one direction or the other could have really significant ramifications in terms of impact,” DeSantis said at news conference, according to NBC News. “If it bumps just a little west, then you’re looking at really, really significant impacts.”

Dorian is forecast to be near Florida’s east coast Monday evening, NBC News reported. President Donald Trump cancelled a weekend trip to Poland to ensure he remained in the U.S. as the hurricane nears.

“We were thinking about Florida evacuations, but it’s a little bit too soon,” Trump said according to NBC News. “We’ll probably have to make that determination on Sunday.”

Parts of the southeastern coast in the U.S. may get 6 to 12 inches of rain, and other areas could get up to 18 inches.