Beaufort County in Hurricane Dorian’s path. Storm a 185-mph Category 5

Hurricane Dorian, one of the strongest hurricanes on record, is now a catastrophic Category 5 storm with maximum winds of 185 mph, the National Hurricane Center reported Sunday afternoon, and Beaufort County is near its projected path midweek.

At 2 p.m. Sunday, the storm was over the Bahamas and was 185 miles east of West Palm Beach with a prediction that it would head north along Florida’s Atlantic coast as a major hurricane through Wednesday.

It was expected to weaken from a major hurricane to a Category 1 or 2 by the time it reaches Beaufort County Thursday morning.

Sheriff P.J. Tanner said there were “no plans for evacuations at this time” for Beaufort County during a press conference Sunday.

S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency at noon on Saturday.

“The executive order enables all state agencies to coordinate resources and sets into effect the State Emergency Operations Plan ... mobilizing assets and resources to be staged along the coast ahead of any potential impact from Hurricane Dorian,” according to the S.C. Emergency Management Division.

Beaufort County falls within the “cone of uncertainty” — a five-day outlook based on historical data projecting a 60-70 percent chance the tropical cyclone will remain within the track during that time frame.

Considering that one-third of hurricanes fall outside of these projected cones, it’s important to note that Dorian’s projected path is still uncertain.

Coastal flooding, life-threatening storm surge, damaging hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall are all possible for the Beaufort County area, according to the National Hurricane Center in Charleston.

Sustained winds could reach 50 to 60 miles per hour in the area.

Tropical storm-force winds could reach the Beaufort County area as early as Tuesday.

Beaufort County can expect anywhere from 6 to 15 inches of rain from Hurricane Dorian, according to the weather service. A majority of that rain will fall between Tuesday night and Thursday, a forecaster from the weather service said in a Saturday statewide news conference.

“There is an increasing risk of strong winds and dangerous storm surge along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina later this,” says the Hurricane Center. “Residents in these areas should continue to monitor the progress of Dorian.”

On Sunday afternoon, Dorian was moving slowly west at 7 mph. The storm was expected to slow even more as it continues moving west over the next day or two.

This story was originally published September 1, 2019 at 9:26 AM.