Curfew Lifted On St. Croix, Remains in Place for St. Thomas As Hurricane Dorian Moves Over Puerto Rico; Gov’t Employees To Report To Work Thursday

The National Hurricane Center in its 2:00 p.m. forecast upgraded Dorian to a Category 1 hurricane, and the storm battered both the U.S. and British Virgin Islands as it slowly moved over neighboring Puerto Rico. The storm is resilient, and it is expected to grow into a Category 3 hurricane as it takes aim at the Florida Coast.

Hurricane Dorian especially hammered St. Thomas, where winds of 82 miles per hour and gusts of 111 miles per hour were recorded, according to an emergency alert. Some parts of St. Croix got strong winds, too, but not as much as St. Thomas.

Video recorded by residents in St. Thomas showed the island being whip lashed by the storm. “This is up by me. This is not what nobody here expected,” said Lisa Donovan as trees bent to Dorian’s mercy. “This is my view of Dorian from my front door. Look at this. This is Hurricane Dorian. Crazy, crazy, crazy.”

Governor Albert Bryan earlier today declared a state of emergency for the territory and it remains in effect. He revealed that 500 tourists were on St. Croix while 1,000 were in St. Thomas. Mr. Bryan also announced late Wednesday that the curfew announced earlier today has been lifted on St. Croix but remains in effect until 8:00 a.m. Thursday in the St. Thomas-St. John District. Additionally, all government employees on St. Croix are to report to work for normal hours. In the St. Thomas-St. John District, employees are to report to work from 10:00 a.m. Thursday.

According to the National Hurricane Center’s 5:00 p.m. advisory, the apparent eye of Hurricane Dorian was located near latitude 18.8 North, longitude 65.5 West. Dorian is moving toward the northwest near 14 mph (22 km/h). On this track, Dorian should move away from the U.S. and British Virgin Islands during the next several hours and then move over the Atlantic well east of the southeastern Bahamas on Thursday and Friday.

Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 80 mph (130 km/h) with higher gusts. Dorian is forecast to strengthen and become a powerful hurricane during the next few days over the Atlantic waters.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 15 miles (30 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 80 miles (130 km). The estimated minimum central pressure is 997 mb (29.44 inches).

Rain

Eastern Puerto Rico, the the U.S. and British Virgin Islands should expect 4 to 6 inches, isolated 8 inches of rain.

Wind

Hurricane conditions are ongoing over portions of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and could still occur over Vieques, Culebra, and the British Virgin Islands during the next several hours. These winds should subside tonight. Tropical storm conditions are expected in Puerto Rico this afternoon and tonight.

Wind speeds atop and on the windward sides of hills and mountains are often up to 30 percent stronger than the near-surface winds indicated in this advisory, and in some elevated locations could be even greater.

Surf

Swells are expected to increase later today across the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and along the southern coasts of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, and they could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Please consult products from your local weather office.