Hurricane Dorian regained enough strength on Sept. 7 to once again become a Category 2 storm, ahead of an expected landfall in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
By the afternoon, the storm was 180 miles southeast of Eastport, Maine, and about 140 miles south-southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia, the National Hurricane Center said. It was moving northeast at 29 mph, packing maximum winds of 100 mph.
Dorian’s landfall in Canada is expected Saturday evening, according to CNN meteorologist Robert Shackelford.
The storm’s nearly two-week path has unleashed devastation in the Bahamas, where it flattened homes and swept away neighborhoods, leaving at least 43 people dead.
In the United States, several cities were cleaning up after it made landfall in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and brushed other East Coast states Friday. Five deaths have been blamed on the storm so far.
Risk of Rip Currents
The storm made one final U.S. stop in southeastern Massachusetts on Saturday, unloading rain and tropical storm force winds.
The main concern in New England was the high surf advisories for people along the coast as the storms move out, Shackelford said.
“Some areas can see 18 to 20 feet breaking waves, so even the strongest swimmers are warned to be cautious of high waves. Swimmers are also advised to be cautious of rip currents, which can rapidly pull swimmers out to deeper waters,” Shackelford said.
Widespread regions of the East Coast can expect wind gusts of up to 30 mph throughout the day Saturday, with some areas such as Nantucket potentially seeing wind gusts of between 58 mph and 73 mph, he added.
In addition to the winds, some areas along the coast will get drenched with up to three inches of rainfall throughout the day.
Flooding on North Carolina Barrier Islands
Floodwaters are receding on North Carolina’s Ocracoke Island after Dorian hit, easing concerns for people stuck in their homes for most of the day.
“There are people that have had knee to waist-deep water in their houses,”resident Jason Wells told CNN.”Several people were rescued from their upper floors or attics by boat, or from Good Samaritans.”
Since Thursday, Dorian has flooded parts of the Carolinas and spawned several tornadoes, as well as lashed Virginia with winds and rain.
Between 10 and 15 inches of rain fell in parts of North and South Carolina this week, the National Weather Service said.