Governor Brian Kemp is still urging the state’s coastal residents to evacuate amid concerns Hurricane Dorian’s storm surges combined with higher tides could lead to extensive flooding.
The former Category 5 storm which devastated the Bahamas has weakened to a Category 2 hurricane.
Dr. John Knox, Professor of Geography and undergraduate coordinator of the Atmospheric Sciences Program at the University of Georgia, says the storm is still expected to cause damage.
“Even as a Category 2, Dorian is churning up a lot of water and causing high sea levels and that’s going to eat into the beaches, especially with high tides ‘cause we’re near peak in high tides,” according to Knox.
He says predictions by forecasters were right on target.
“I will say because the track forecast we got right, was a really close approximation to what happened and were able to know that this wasn’t going to go in over Florida after all, we saved untold millions of dollars in a mass evacuation of the east coast of Florida.”
Knox agrees with state leaders that those in areas in the storm’s path should evacuate.
“If you’re asked to evacuate, do it, because you can’t freelance an evacuation on your own in something as big as a hurricane.”
Experts say the intensity forecasts are less accurate than tracking forecasts since they are currently more difficult to predict. It does look like Georgia will be spared a direct hit.
