For a coastal community that is already experiencing high water levels, that is not good news. Hurricane Dorian means business – it now has maximum sustained winds of 115mph (category 3) and is forecast to strengthen to a Category 4 or possibly even Category 5 storm before making landfall somewhere on the east coast of Florida. At the moment, anywhere from Miami to Daytona beach could suffer a landfall, and experience those devastating winds.
If the extreme winds and rains aren’t enough, storm surge from this storm could be particularly brutal. A highly populated area, combined with a long sea fetch and very powerful storm could generate a very dangerous storm surge situation. A large Category 4 storm is capable of producing over 10 feet of storm surge, and in this instance could be as high as 15 feet to the north of the eye of the storm, where winds will be blowing landward. Needless to say, this is a very dangerous situation. This is what 9 feet of storm surge looks like (via the weather channel), so one can only imagine 15 feet, an extremely dangerous situation is unfolding.
Please, if you are ordered to evacuate, it is for a reason.