Hurricane Dorian Is on Course to Hit Florida as a Category 4 Storm

[sureshkonda]

Florida residents have been put on alert for a Category 4 hurricane.

Forecasters’ warnings grew increasingly dire on Thursday as they ratcheted up their expectations for Hurricane Dorian, saying it could hit the Florida coast as a Category 4 storm, with winds of at least 130 miles per hour.

The storm was about 200 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, which had escaped much of the storm’s wrath, and was drawing strength from the warm waters of the Atlantic on Thursday.

Forecasters said the hurricane could make landfall on Monday morning, but models have shown divergent tracks for the storm’s path, so officials have warned Floridians from Miami to Jacksonville to prepare for a battering.

The National Hurricane Center warns that a Category 4 storm can cause “catastrophic damage,” peeling off roofs and uprooting trees and power lines.