The Latest on Hurricane Dorian (all times local):
8:10 a.m.
A spokesman for Bahamas Power and Light says there has been a total blackout in New Providence, the archipelago’s most populous island.
Quincy Parker told ZNS Bahamas radio station on Monday morning that crews are working to restore power on the island that lies south of the path that Hurricane Dorian is expected to take.
He said the Bahamas Power and Light office in Abaco, which was hit by the Category 5 storm on Sunday, has been flattened.
“The reports out of Abaco as everyone knows,” Parker said as he sighed, “were not good.”
Parker said officials are anxious for the storm to pass so they can start rebuilding.
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8:10 a.m.
Hurricane Dorian is continuing its slow, devastating slog over the Bahamas.
Early Monday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said the eye of the powerful Category 5 storm was virtually parked over Grand Bahama Island – crawling west at only 1 mph (2 kph) as it dumped rain and lashed the island with destructive winds.
The center said a “life-threatening storm surge” could raise water levels by as much as 23 feet (7 meters) above normal tide in parts of Grand Bahama Island.
At 8 a.m. EDT, the storm was located about 35 miles (50 kilometers) east-northeast of Freeport, Grand Bahama Island and about 120 miles (190 kilometers) east of West Palm Beach, Florida.
Maximum sustained winds stood at 165 mph (270 kph).
The center says Dorian’s core will continue to pound Grand Bahama Island into Monday night. The hurricane will move “dangerously close” to Florida through Wednesday evening.
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7:10 a.m.
Nearly 1,000 flights have been canceled in Florida on Labor Day as Hurricane Dorian barrels toward the U.S. East Coast.
The flight tracking site FlightAware on Monday listed 990 cancellations into or out of airports in Orlando, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and Palm Beach.
As of around 7 a.m. Monday, the center of the Category 5 storm was around 35 miles (56 kilometers) east-northeast of Freeport on Grand Bahama and 120 miles (193 kilometers) east of West Palm Beach, Florida. Top sustained winds remain at 165 mph (265 kph).
The National Hurricane Center in Miami says that although the official forecast does not show Dorian making landfall in Florida, the hurricane could deviate from that prediction and move very near or over the coast.
The center also said the likelihood was increasing of strong winds and dangerous storm surge along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina later this week.
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6:10 a.m
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says the eye of Hurricane Dorian is “wobbling” over the Bahamas’ northernmost island.
Still, residents of Grand Bahama are advised to remain in their shelters, as dangerous winds will pick back up once the eye passes.
As of around 6 a.m. Monday, the center of the storm was around 35 miles (56 kilometers) east-northeast of Freeport on Grand Bahama and 120 miles (193 kilometers) east of West Palm Beach, Florida.
Top sustained winds remain at 165 mph (265 kph) and the Category 5 storm continues to inch west at just 1 mph (1.6 kph).
Dorian is expected to continue lashing the Bahamas on Monday, before moving closer to the southeastern U.S. coast Monday night through Wednesday evening.
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5:05 a.m.
Hurricane Dorian continues to lash the northern Bahamas as it crawls westward toward the southeastern U.S. coast.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami says the Category 5 storm’s top sustained winds remain at 165 mph (265 kph) Monday morning, down Sunday’s high of 185 mph (297 kph). The center of the storm is around 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Grand Bahama’s largest city, Freeport, and 115 miles (185 kilometers) east of West Palm Beach, Florida.
The newest advisory indicates that the east-central coast of Florida may experience a “brief tornado” Monday afternoon or evening.
The government of the Bahamas has discontinued the hurricane warning for New Providence and Eleuthera, and the hurricane watch for Andros island.
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4:10 a.m.
Hurricane Dorian is crawling westward at just 1 mph (1.6 kph) as it lashes the northern Bahamas with destructive winds.
According to a 4 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, the Category 5 storm’s top sustained winds have decreased to 165 mph (265kph).
The center of the storm remains around 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Grand Bahama’s largest city, Freeport. It’s also around 125 miles (200 kilometers) east of West Palm Beach, Florida.
The update says Grand Bahama is “being lashes incessantly with destructive hurricane-force winds.”
The hurricane is expected to continue battering Grand Bahama through Monday, before moving close to Florida’s coast Monday night through Wednesday evening.
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3:10 a.m.
Hurricane Dorian’s eye is crawling over the Bahamas’ northernmost island, but residents are warned not to leave their shelters.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Dorian’s top sustained winds have further decreased to 170 mph (275 kph). The Category 5’s movement has slowed to a 2 mph (4 kph) crawl westward.
The 3 a.m. Sunday advisory warns residents on Grand Bahama to remain in their shelters as the eye passes over, as winds will rapidly pick back up once the eye moves.
Residents of the islands where the hurricane first hit are also advised to remain in their shelters until conditions improve later Monday.
The center of the storm is around 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Grand Bahama’s largest city, Freeport. It’s also around 125 miles (200 kilometers) east of West Palm Beach, Florida.
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2:10 a.m.
Hurricane Dorian has weakened slightly as it batters the northern Bahamas but the National Hurricane Center in Miami says the Category 5 storm still remains “extremely dangerous.”
As of 2 a.m. Monday, the storm had top sustained winds of 175 mph (280 kph) and was moving westward at 5 mph (7 kph). The storm is currently pounding the Bahamas’ northernmost island, Grand Bahama, and is centered about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of the island’s largest city, Freeport, and 125 miles (200 kilometers) east of West Palm Beach, Florida.
The hurricane is expected to continue battering Grand Bahama through Monday, before moving “dangerously close” to the Florida coast Monday night through Wednesday evening.
The hurricane center forecasts further weakening at a slow pace, but the hurricane is expected to remain “powerful” over the next few days.
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1:25 a.m.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami says catastrophic storm-surge flooding is likely occurring on the Bahamas’ northernmost island, Grand Bahama.
The 1 a.m. Monday update continued to characterize the situation created by the Category 5 Hurricane Dorian as “life-threatening.”
The hurricane’s westward movement has slightly slowed down to 5 mph (7 kph). The center of the storm remains around 45 miles (70 kilometers) east of Freeport on Grand Bahama and around 130 miles (210 kilometers) east of West Palm Beach, Florida.
Residents of the Abacos and Grand Bahama islands are still advised to remain in their shelters. Hazards of wind gusts at 200 mph (320 kph) and storm surge 18 to 23 feet (5.5 to 7 meters) above normal tide levels are forecast to “cause extreme destruction” and continue for several hours.
12:05 a.m.
Destructive winds from Hurricane Dorian are spreading across the Bahamas’ northernmost island.
The National Hurricane Center characterized the situation as “life-threatening” in a midnight Sunday statement. Residents of Grand Bahama, where the hurricane has made landfall, are encouraged not to leave their shelters when the eye of the hurricane passes over.
Residents of the Abacos, where Dorian first hit, are advised to remain in their shelters until conditions subside later Monday.
The statement warns of wind gusts at 200 mph (320 kph) and storm surge 18 to 23 feet (5.5 to 7 meters) above normal tide levels that “will cause extreme destruction.”
The center of the storm is around 45 miles (70 kilometers) east of Freeport on Grand Bahama and around 130 miles (210 kilometers) east of West Palm Beach, Florida.
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12 a.m.
In a slow, relentless advance, a catastrophic Hurricane Dorian keeps pounding at the northern Bahamas, as one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever recorded leaves wrecked homes, shredded roofs, tumbled cars and toppled power poles in its wake.
The storm’s top sustained winds have decreased slightly to 180 mph (290 kph) while it spun along Grand Bahama island early Monday in what forecasters say will be a daylong assault. Earlier, Dorian churned over Abaco island with battering winds and surf during Sunday.
There is little information from the affected islands, though officials expect many residents to be left homeless. Most people went to shelters as the storm approached, with tourist hotels shutting down and residents boarded up their homes.
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For AP’s complete coverage of the hurricane: https://apnews.com/Hurricanes