Dorian hits U.S. Virgin Islands as Category 1 hurricane
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico • Dorian became a Category 1 hurricane Wednesday as it struck the U.S. Virgin Islands, with forecasters saying it could grow to Category 3 status as it nears the U.S. mainland as early as the weekend.
The British Virgin Islands and the Puerto Rican islands of Vieques and Culebra were also in Dorian’s path with landslides, widespread flooding and power outages possible in the U.S. territory, which faced its first major test of emergency preparedness since the 2017 devastation of Hurricane Maria.
“Dorian brings uncertainty, and, for those of us who experienced the storms of 2017, uncomfortable memories,” said British Virgin Islands Gov. Augustus Jaspert. “Take heart.”
Dorian prompted President Donald Trump to declare a state of emergency Tuesday night and order federal assistance for local authorities.
At noon MDT, Dorian was located over St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said it had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph while moving northwest at 13 mph.
The Hurricane Center said the storm could grow into a dangerous Category 3 storm as it pushes northwest in the general direction of Florida.
Dennis Feltgen, a National Hurricane Center meteorologist in Miami, said Dorian may grow in size and could land anywhere from South Florida to South Carolina on Sunday or Monday.
“This will be a large storm approaching the Southeast,” he said.
A hurricane tropical storm warning was in effect for Puerto Rico, with Dorian expected to dump 4 to 6 inches of rain with isolated amounts of 8 inches.
It’s a forecast that worries many in Puerto Rico because blue tarps still cover some 30,000 homes nearly two years after Hurricane Maria.
The island’s 3.2 million inhabitants also depend on an unstable power grid that remains prone to outages since it was destroyed by Maria, a Category 4 storm.
A reported 23,000 customers were without power across Puerto Rico by early Wednesday afternoon, according to Ángel Figueroa, president of a union that represents power workers.
This satellite image taken Wednesday shows Dorian, a Category 1 hurricane, crossing over the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. Forecasters say it could grow to Category 3 status as it nears the U.S. mainland as early as the weekend.