With Hurricane Dorian approaching, forecaster tells Columbia not to wait to prepare
Hurricane Dorian is forecast to make landfall in Florida in the coming days. What it does after that remains uncertain.
But Columbia and the Midlands should expect to be affected by the powerful storm. What that impact is remains to be determined.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty,” said Chris Liscinsky, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Columbia. “It’s not forecast to make landfall in Florida until Monday afternoon. We can get a better track after it makes landfall.”
Dorian could move into the Midlands by the middle or end of next week, with effects being felt as early as Wednesday, Liscinsky said.
He said the chances are small that Dorian would still be a hurricane when it reaches Columbia, but that will be determined by its movement in the next three days.
Should Dorian turn east of Florida then turn back north, the Midlands could experience a hurricane, according to Liscinsky.
But even if it is downgraded to a tropical depression by the time it comes to Columbia, Dorian could still cause issues.
“Don’t focus on the wind speeds. It can still dump a lot of rainfall,” Liscinsky said.
The heavy rainfall could lead to rivers rising, flash floods and downed trees, according to Liscinsky. He said all of the water will soften the ground and make reduced wind speeds a threat to uproot trees.
Tornadoes are also a possible effect of the powerful weather.
The meteorologist again stressed that much remains unknown, but it’s possible the Midlands could get up to 10 inches of rain next week because of Dorian.
“The worst-case scenario is the system is coming up and slowing down, stalling over us and giving us a lot of rainfall,” Liscinsky said. “You need to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. You don’t want to wait until the last minute to prepare.”
Those preparations include stocking up on goods like flashlights, batteries, a first-aid kit, other emergency supplies, and generators as well as non-perishable food and water.
Forecasters said Dorian is expected to be “a major hurricane” — a Category 4 — capable of dumping 20 inches of rain on some parts of the southeastern United States, McClatchy news group reported.
With maximum sustained wind speeds of 85 mph, Dorian is currently a Category 1 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.
“Strengthening is forecast during the next few days, and Dorian is expected to become a major hurricane on Friday, and remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through the weekend,” the NHC said.
This story was originally published August 29, 2019 at 8:43 PM.
