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View previous updates here. For the latest from the county, click here. 

UPDATE 5:57 p.m.

{{tncms-inline content=”<p><strong>From the US National Weather Service Melbourne, Florida:</strong></p> <p>Inland Residents. Rain bands will move across the area tonight. Expect sudden increases in winds up to 40-50mph in these squalls. The most intense may produce gusts up to 60mph. Be vigilant and don’t venture outdoors at night when all hazards are harder to see.</p>” id=”126f4465-fafd-4bc2-b069-3357c88c16d2″ style-type=”update” title=”What to expect tonight from Dorian” type=”relcontent”}}

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UPDATE 5:30 p.m. <img class="wp-image-1909 size-large" src="https://www.beacononlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/65b624d63c3e53cef7d5e8b29be81cc1.jpg" alt="

The large “arm” of Dorian will swing over Florida tonight. ” width=”600″ height=”600″ />

The large “arm” of Dorian will swing over Florida tonight.

{{tncms-inline content=”&lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot;&gt;Latest update from the National Hurricane Center has Category 2 Hurricane Dorian with sustained winds of 110 mph; no change from seven hours earlier. The storm is, however, on the move northwest at 6 mph, and has grown to be over 300 miles in diameter.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot;&gt;The forecast has the massive weather system continuing northwest overnight. Conditions will continue to deteriorate in Volusia through the night and for most of tomorrow, as the large &amp;ldquo;arm&amp;rdquo; of the hurricane swings over the state.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot;&gt;The Red Cross estimates that roughly 13 thousand homes were destroyed across the Bahamas and that 99% of people on Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands will need emergency assistance.&lt;/p&gt;” id=”1b79313e-d22c-43a8-8bda-27a863e763c0″ style-type=”update” title=”Dorian at our doorstop after long wait and catastrophic destruction in the Bahamas — weakened to Cat 2 but over 300 miles in diameter” type=”relcontent”}}

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UPDATE 3:51 p.m.

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UPDATE 3:16 p.m.

{{tncms-inline content=”&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;From Volusia County Schools:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;DELAND &amp;mdash; Volusia County Schools is closely monitoring Hurricane Dorian with our Emergency Management partners. We will continue to monitor this hurricane and provide updates daily.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;At this time shelters are being consolidated.&amp;nbsp; The following shelters are now closed:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Pine Ridge High School&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Pride Elementary School&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;River Springs Middle School&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;University High School&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;This is subject to change based on updated Hurricane Dorian storm information.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Shelters that are still open are listed below:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;General&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;TD Taylor Middle/High, 100 E. Washington Ave, Pierson&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;DeLand High,&amp;nbsp;800 N Hill Rd, DeLand&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;​&lt;/strong&gt;Mainland High School, 1255 W. Intl Speedway Blvd, Daytona Beach&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Sweetwater Elementary,&amp;nbsp;5800 Victoria Gardens Blvd, Port Orange&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Special Needs Shelter&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;ndash; Assists evacuees with disabilities or functional medical needs. This is a Pet Friendly shelter for Special Needs persons only. Evacuees and their service animals will remain in the same location.&lt;/li&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;Atlantic High,&amp;nbsp;1250 Reed Canal Rd, Port Orange&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Creekside Middle,&amp;nbsp;6801 Airport Rd, Port Orange&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Freedom Elementary,&amp;nbsp;1395 S. Blue Lake Avenue, DeLand&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Galaxy Middle,&amp;nbsp;2400 Eustace Ave, Deltona&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;​&lt;/strong&gt;Palm Terrace Elementary, 1825 Dunn Avenue, Daytona Beach&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Pet Friendly&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;ndash; People and pets are housed in separate locations at the shelter&lt;/li&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;Hinson Middle,1860 N. Clyde Morris Blvd,&amp;nbsp;Daytona Beach&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;People &amp;amp; Pet Shelter&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;- (People and pets are house in the same location &amp;ndash; Fairgrounds only)&lt;/li&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;​&lt;/strong&gt;Volusia County Fairgrounds, 3150 W. State Rd 44, DeLand&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p&gt;All schools are closed&amp;nbsp;Tuesday (Sept. 3), Wednesday (Sept. 4) and Thursday (Sept. 5). All school related activities on or off campus are cancelled through Thursday.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Volusia County has information here:&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.volusia.org%2F&amp;amp;data=02%7C01%7Ckjschulz%40volusia.k12.fl.us%7C6c08928810ba4ac0bc8608d72d477d6c%7C93e9784b350740ffbc0159ea8a1a7b71%7C0%7C0%7C637027657373785307&amp;amp;sdata=tVB7Si1kpC1nrZjn60ubluciW91w8gHNlo2KN0Ga6k8%3D&amp;amp;reserved=0&quot; rel=&quot;noreferrer&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; data-saferedirecturl=&quot;https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.volusia.org%252F%26data%3D02%257C01%257Ckjschulz%2540volusia.k12.fl.us%257C6c08928810ba4ac0bc8608d72d477d6c%257C93e9784b350740ffbc0159ea8a1a7b71%257C0%257C0%257C637027657373785307%26sdata%3DtVB7Si1kpC1nrZjn60ubluciW91w8gHNlo2KN0Ga6k8%253D%26reserved%3D0&amp;amp;source=gmail&amp;amp;ust=1567624503131000&amp;amp;usg=AFQjCNGwM7R0Jb5s5TdsV6_pe5cxcZrs6g&quot;&gt;https://www.volusia.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The Florida Department of Education has up-to-date statewide information here:&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fldoe.org%2Fhurricaneinfo%2Findex.stml&amp;amp;data=02%7C01%7Ckjschulz%40volusia.k12.fl.us%7C6c08928810ba4ac0bc8608d72d477d6c%7C93e9784b350740ffbc0159ea8a1a7b71%7C0%7C0%7C637027657373785307&amp;amp;sdata=aGMGLDCZfVYYELWaJ34e%2FAyPDdqlBCpiVKP8zmNKsNg%3D&amp;amp;reserved=0&quot; rel=&quot;noreferrer&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; data-saferedirecturl=&quot;https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.fldoe.org%252Fhurricaneinfo%252Findex.stml%26data%3D02%257C01%257Ckjschulz%2540volusia.k12.fl.us%257C6c08928810ba4ac0bc8608d72d477d6c%257C93e9784b350740ffbc0159ea8a1a7b71%257C0%257C0%257C637027657373785307%26sdata%3DaGMGLDCZfVYYELWaJ34e%252FAyPDdqlBCpiVKP8zmNKsNg%253D%26reserved%3D0&amp;amp;source=gmail&amp;amp;ust=1567624503131000&amp;amp;usg=AFQjCNHY_yZzs2uYpZb4ncTwtP94sqPYNg&quot;&gt;http://www.fldoe.org/hurricaneinfo/index.stml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; ” id=”2fa2333f-b99e-4dfd-bce9-348bc959aadb” style-type=”update” title=”Hurricane Shelter Updates” type=”relcontent”}}

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UPDATE 2:30 p.m.

{{tncms-inline content=”&lt;p&gt;As of the National Hurricane Center&amp;rsquo;s 2 p.m. advisory, Hurricane Dorian was downgraded to a Category 2 storm, with 110 mph sustained winds.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The storm is now moving northwest at 5 mph, after being nearly stalled for the past day or so. Dorian is still forecast to move northwest or north along Florida&amp;rsquo;s east coast for the next day or two.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;County officials also gave an update on the storm at a 2 p.m. news conference at the Volusia County Emergency Operations Center.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;While the storm has weakened somewhat, County Manager George Recktenwald warned residents not to let their guards down.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;If the storm moves just a few miles to the west, that will make a big difference,&amp;rdquo; Recktenwald said. &amp;ldquo;Another thing to consider is that while the storm is a little further offshore, it&amp;rsquo;s expanding in size.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The storm&amp;rsquo;s 110 mph sustained-wind speed puts it only 1 mph away from being a Category 3 hurricane, he noted.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;County Emergency Management Director Jim Judge said tropical-storm-force winds were expected to begin to arrive in Volusia County around 6 p.m Tuesday, and to last between 17 and 24 hours.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;About 1,800 people have opted to ride out the storm in county shelters.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Residents east of the Halifax River, particularly those in low-lying areas or mobile homes, were ordered Monday morning to evacuate.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Flooding along the St. Johns River remains a concern, Judge said.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;We do have a [minor] flood stage up in Astor. We&amp;rsquo;re anticipating that&amp;rsquo;s going to go to &amp;lsquo;moderate&amp;rsquo; later in the week,&amp;rdquo; he said. &amp;ldquo;We do have law enforcement and Fire [Services] going around that area, just to make sure citizens there know what they can expect.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood also spoke, warning would-be ne&amp;rsquo;er-do-wells against trying to take advantage of people during the storm.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;His agency has already dealt with two cases of storm-related fraud, he said. The first involved an 82-year-old DeBary woman, who was scammed out of $20,000 from a person purporting to be from a tree service.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The other was a visually impaired DeLand resident, who was robbed after allowing two people who claimed to be city employees in, supposedly to test the tap water in the resident&amp;rsquo;s home.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Chitwood urged residents to look out for each other, especially the vulnerable among us, during the storm.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;As the storm worsens and power probably goes out, please keep an eye on our most vulnerable citizens,&amp;rdquo; he said. &amp;ldquo;If you see something suspicious when you look out the window, please, do not hesitate to call 911.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The sheriff had strong words for those who would seek to take advantage of others during a natural disaster.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;You&amp;rsquo;ve got to be a real scumbag if you&amp;rsquo;re going to attack people who are blind and people who are extremely elderly, and show up and try to scam them out of tens of thousands of dollars,&amp;rdquo; Chitwood said.&lt;/p&gt;” id=”077b15b8-f178-4052-b79d-7944a157679e” style-type=”update” title=”Dorian downgraded to strong Cat 2; Volusia County stands to get tropical-storm winds starting around 6 p.m.” type=”relcontent”}}

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UPDATE SEPT 3. 12:05 p.m. <img class="wp-image-1911 size-large" src="https://www.beacononlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/b7e5121fc919f823c4eaf1defb8ea468.gif" alt="A thermal imaging loop of where Dorian currently sits from a geostationary operational environmental satellite” width=”600″ height=”600″ />

A thermal imaging loop of where Dorian currently sits from a geostationary operational environmental satellite

{{tncms-inline content=”&lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot;&gt;The latest track suggests that the hurricane&amp;rsquo;s core will remain off-shore, keeping the most dangerous winds away from the coast. Volusians should still be prepared for high gusts, as Dorian has weakened but grown in size.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot;&gt;Although Dorian has weakened to a Category 2, the storm is in the upper levels of that designation &amp;mdash; Category 2 hurricanes have maximum sustained wind speeds between 96 and 110 mph.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot;&gt;Dorian&amp;rsquo;s maximum sustained wind speed is 110 mph.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot;&gt;Hurricane-force winds now extend up to 60 miles from the eye, and tropical-force winds extend 175 miles.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot;&gt;Inland Volusia should expect heavy rainfall periodically today, as storm bands arrive in a northeasterly direction and move over the county. Wind gusts as high as 50 mph are possible.&lt;/p&gt;” id=”f9313115-57f8-4d27-a247-a75417e588b0″ style-type=”update” title=”Dorian is moving northwest at 2 mph, and growing in size. ” type=”relcontent”}}

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9:30 a.m. – Dorian begins to move northwest

After remaining stationary throughout the night, wreaking devastation in the Bahamas, Hurricane Dorian has begun to move northwest at 1 mph.

Weary Volusians, prepared for days, can expect another day of warnings and updates from officials, as Dorian is expected to pick up speed later today and into Wednesday. The outermost storm bands of the hurricane will continue to move over the state throughout the day. 

Although the timing of Dorian’s arrival has changed many times at this point, the threats remain the same: inland Volusia County should expect tropical-storm-force winds and heavy rainfall as early as this evening.

Dorian is now a strong Category 3 hurricane. When the storm made landfall in the Bahamas around noon Sunday, Hurricane Dorian tied the unnamed 1935 Labor Day hurricane as the strongest Atlantic hurricane to make landfall.

Scenes of the devastating effects of Dorian in the Bahamas appeared on social media yesterday. Emergency crews are unable to assess the full effects until Wednesday, according to news reports.

Track uncertainty with Dorian is still very high, but Volusia is already feeling the effects from the outermost storm bands of the storm. Weather conditions will continue to deteriorate throughout the day.

From the local National Weather Service’s 8:40 a.m. update today:

Persons in central Florida should not be lulled into complacency

because weather conditions have yet to significantly worsen!

There will be considerable impacts and damage to coastal areas with

effects starting to be felt over inland areas as well. The threat for

damaging gusty winds, especially in increasing squalls is high. The threat

for life-threatening storm surge is moderate. Severe beach erosion and

topping or breaching of the dunes from water runup during high tide,

coupled with storm surge will increase.

The latest forecast for Dorian keeps the eye of Dorian about 60 to

70 miles offshore east central Florida at its closest approach. This

is a little farther than indicated by earlier forecasts. However, any

deviation west of the forecast track would bring stronger winds,

higher seas and surf, and heavier rain to the Florida east coast.

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