Hurricane Joaquin continues to strengthen as it bears down on the Central Bahamas Thursday morning after strengthening into a Category 3 Hurricane Wednesday night, the National Hurricane Center reports.
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The East Coast may escape the fury of Joaquin, but still may face heavy rain and flooding this weekend.
Winds could be gusting up to 30 miles per hour Thursday afternoon.
Hurricane Joaquin was moving slowly through the Bahamas on Friday morning with winds of 130 miles per hour.
San Salvador, Cat Island and Rum Cay were expected to experience the most significant effects before the storm shifts northward. Surging waters reached the windows of a few houses on Long Island in the Bahamas while on Eleuthera island people hauled sandbags and boarded up businesses as the storm neared Friday. To help analysts assess potential storm effects, the US Energy Information Administration maintains an energy disruptions map that displays energy infrastructure and real-time storm information. If this track holds, then the D.C. Metro would see minimal impacts from Joaquin, with coastal areas affected the most.
The storm was expected to gain strength and could become a Category 4 over the next day as it moves near or over portions of the Bahamas, the NHC said.
In Cuba, officials issued a tropical storm warning for much of the southeastern part of the island, meaning that hurricane conditions are expected in the warning area. “It could end up missing the United States entirely as it zips up the East Coast”. Right now this doesn’t appear likely, but at least one weather computer model has Hurricane Joaquin closer to shore.
Even if Joaquin moves out to sea, strong onshore winds associated with a frontal system will create minor to moderate coastal flooding along the coasts of the mid-Atlantic and northeastern states through the weekend. According to the National Weather Service, it all depends on the path the storm takes.
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Regardless of the track, there is still plenty of rain expected over the next several days and more flooding will be possible. The Bahamas Department of Meteorology warned of the possibility of flash floods and surf and unsafe rip currents, the Bahamas Press reported.
