After remaining stagnant over the Bahamas for over a day, Hurricane Dorian is finally inching its way over to Florida and while we are now out of the cone, the National Weather Service continues to warn residents about the increased potential for storm hazards, with tropical storm force winds hitting most of South and Central Florida over the course of today.
IMPORTANT: The headline for this #Dorian advisory is NOT that the wind speed has slightly decreased. The combined wind, surge, and floods hazards are the same or even worse since the hurricane has become larger. Full advisory: https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/vbtsENgUMt
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 3, 2019
Per the Orlando Sentinel,
“The latest advisory from the NHC continues to show the track of Dorian remaining offshore of Central Florida,” WOFL Fox-35 meteorologist Jayme King said after the 11 a.m. update. “While this will bode better for Central Florida impact-wise, residents should not let their guard down, staying prepared until the storm passes off to our northeast.”
The National Hurricane Center also warned people not to be fooled by a false sense of safety because Dorian’s wind speeds decreased: “The combined wind, surge, and floods hazards are the same or even worse since the hurricane has become larger.”
Over in Walt Disney World, many of the parks are closing early, with the exception of Epcot and Disney Springs, whose hours were just recently extended due to only mild tropical storm conditions in the parks so far today.
Orlando International Airport has suspended all commercial flights for today and has not released an expected time of resumed operation:
A reminder that as of now we do not have an expected time to resume operations, as it depends on many factors as the storm moves past. Updates will be posted here as they become available and passengers are encouraged to check with their airlines for flight updates. Thanks, all.
— Orlando International Airport (@MCO) September 3, 2019
You can check for any further updates for Hurricane Dorian from the National Hurricane Center here.