Dorian strongest Atlantic hurricane in modern times to hit The Bahamas

Images shared on social media show widespread damage and flooding on Great Abaco Island in the northern Bahamas.

Hurricane Dorian became a monster storm Sunday, tearing apart Great Abaco Island for most of the day. The storm exploded early this morning, reaching category 5 status and beyond. Dorian became the strongest hurricane in modern times to strike The Bahamas, and one of the most intense on record in the Atlantic basin. Peak winds reached 185mph, and have since lowered only slightly to 180mph (285 km/h) as of the 11pm observation Sunday night.

Dorian became one of the strongest hurricanes on record in the Atlantic basin today, as winds reached 185mph. (Tropical Tidbits)

Dorian is crawling achingly slowly at 9km/h, prolonging the battering the northern Bahamas is sustaining. The slow movement has resulted in massive flooding, power outages and the complete failure of most structures. Images and video shared on social media show tremendous damage on Graeat Abaco Island. The storm is now impacting Grand Bahama Island and Freeport. Catastrophic damage is expected in those locations as the winds scour the region overnight and into Monday.

Winds and waves will increase on Labour Day along the Florida coast as Dorian inches dangerously close to a US landfall. Forecasters expect that Dorian will remain just offshore, however just a slight wobble would bring the eye inland along the central Florida coast. As of late Sunday, hurricane warnings were now in effect along the Florida coast and evacuations were ordered in several counties.

Briefly looking ahead, Dorian is expected to sweep the southeast coast as far north as the Outer Banks. While weakening is expected, Dorian will remain a very dangerous hurricane for most of the upcoming week.