Hurricane Dorian Packing 150 MPH Winds, Expected to Hit Georgia and Carolinas

Hurricane Dorian is now an extremely powerful storm, packing winds at 150 mph as the storm tracks closer to the Bahamas, closing hotels and causing emergency evacuations on the island.

The Associated Press reports, remaining tourists in the northern Bahamas were sent to churches, shelters in schools, and other buildings offering protection from wind, rain, and flooding.

CBN's Operation Blessing US Disaster Team has deployed to the Bahamas and the southeastern US to help with Dorian aftermath. Click Here to Help Operation Blessing Provide Relief to Victims of Disaster.

The National Hurricane Center predicts the core of Dorian will move near portions of the northwestern Bahamas on Sunday and closer to Florida’s east coast by late Monday.

There is an increased risk for strong winds and storm surge along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Hurricane-force winds are still possible along portions of the Florida east coast.

#Dorian is a powerful category 4 hurricane. Here are the Key Messages from the 5 pm EDT advisory. pic.twitter.com/jHCuANBNSQ

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 31, 2019

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency, urging South Carolinians to prepare for the possibility of Hurricane Dorian impacting the state.

President Trump tweeted Saturday afternoon that the storm could hit much harder than originally anticipated.

Looking like our great South Carolina could get hit MUCH harder than first thought. Georgia and North Carolina also. It’s moving around and very hard to predict, except that it is one of the biggest and strongest (and really wide) that we have seen in decades. Be safe!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 31, 2019

Wind speeds are expected to strengthen to 155 miles per hour, just short of Category 5 force, before weakening to 140 or so as it nears Florida.

Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center, described Dorian as a textbook storm with a well-defined eye that is still growing in strength.

"If you're in Florida, yes, you can look at it and see that as we're getting further off the coast, and it seems like good news," Graham said late Saturday morning. "But again, at the same time, a 150-mile hurricane. This is a powerful storm. A little closer to us and you could get more impacts. But either way, some places in Florida could see some of that rain, could still see some of those elevated tides with the storm surge, so we've just got to pay attention to the latest forecast."

CBN's Operation Blessing US Disaster Team deployed to Central Florida on Friday.

A team of volunteers took a generator-powered shower trailer, a 35-foot truck full of food and disaster relief supplies, and a work order trailer with gear to serve impacted communities.

"We actually have supplies that volunteers can just show up with the shirts on their back and go out and serve the community," says Operation Blessing's Blake Mueller.

He's praying the storm turns away, but if it does hit, Operation Blessing is prepared to stay and serve impacted communities for months if needed.

"Our overall mission is to end human suffering down there in the disaster-related area, and how we do that is by setting distribution centers that have non- perishable items along with hygiene products and cleaning supplies to hand out to the community. Not only that, but we offer free, hot meals to the community," Mueller adds.

For so many, this holiday weekend will be used to prepare and brace.

CBN's Operation Blessing US Disaster Team has deployed to the Bahamas and the southeastern US to help with Dorian aftermath. Click Here to Help Operation Blessing Provide Relief to Victims of Disaster.