Hurricane Dorian turns terrifying as meteorologists, President issue stark warnings for Florida

Hurricane Dorian has thankfully spared much of The Caribbean this week, passing just to the east and north of many of the most populous areas in the region.

But this path comes with its own hazards, as the lack of land underneath the storm has allowed Dorian to strengthen dramatically, festering over the warm waters of the South Atlantic.  Now, with nearly every possible forecast showing the massive hurricane slamming into Florida over the long Labor Day weekend, residents of The Sunshine State are preparing for the worst.

A strengthening Hurricane Dorian is churning over the warm, open waters of the Atlantic on Thursday as forecasts show the storm becoming more dangerous in its path to Florida’s east coast — a track that’s prompted President Trump to warn Dorian “will be BIG!”

The National Hurricane Center said, as of 11 a.m. ET, that Dorian is a Category 1 storm with sustained winds near 85 mph and it is moving northwest at 13 mph. It was located about 220 miles north-northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, NHC said.

Forecasters believe the storm will strengthen into a dangerous Category 3 hurricane by Friday, staying well east of the southern and central Bahamas before making a turn toward Florida by Sunday afternoon.

That would create a serious opportunity for Dorian to transform into a category 4 storm – a rare and powerful designation even for the hurricane-savvy citizens of Florida.

The President did not mince his words:

“Hurricane Dorian looks like it will be hitting Florida late Sunday night,” Trump tweetedThursday morning. “Be prepared and please follow State and Federal instructions, it will be a very big Hurricane, perhaps one of the biggest!”

President Trump announced he would not travel to Poland this weekend in order to stay in the U.S. and oversee the hurricane response, saying Vice President Mike Pence would go in his place.

“It’s important for me to be here,” the president said Thursday at a White House event for the Space Force.

Residents were scrambling to prepare.

Store shelves empty, gas stations blitzed as Florida prepares for #Dorian: https://t.co/JKKelO0YIt pic.twitter.com/QXhe944wEG

— AccuWeather (@accuweather) August 29, 2019

Store shelves clearing out. #Florida #hurricane #Dorian pic.twitter.com/lekhDjYhhY

— Finn McCool (@smartcorgi) August 28, 2019

Stay safe, Florida, and heed the warnings of state and federal officials.