Hurricane Dorian: Curfew Ordered In Savannah Ahead Of Storm

GEORGIA — Hurricane Dorian has moved north to pound the coast of Georgia, making Savannah and the rest of coastal Georgia batten down the hatches with a curfew in place, bridges closed and emergency centers open.

Chatham County remains under a hurricane watch, flash flood watch, storm surge warning, and
tropical storm warning, the county said. This means the conditions are favorable for tornadoes and tropical storm force winds. Expected winds for Chatham County are 45-55 mph sustained and 65 mph gusts.

The combination of dangerous storm surge and the tide could cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded with rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could reach 3 to 5 feet above ground if peak surge occurs during high tide. Water levels could begin to rise well in advance of the arrival of strong winds with potential of peak rainfall of 4 to 8 inches.

The surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves. Surge-related flooding will depend on how close the center of Dorian comes to the coast, and can vary greatly over short distances. It is likely that Highway 80 to Tybee Island and other low-lying roadways will be inundated with water during high tide periods, officials said.

The City of Savannah and Town of Thunderbolt have implemented a curfew from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. until further notice. There are no curfews in place for unincorporated Chatham County or any other jurisdictions within Chatham County at this time.

Chatham County Public Works has a staging crew ready to remove debris once impacted areas have been assessed. No municipality is scheduled to turn off water at this time. For those who have private water service, residents need to contact the provider for more information.

While the storms’ impact is yet to be determined, American Red Cross has set up shelters throughout the state to assist evacuees. For specific information, residents should call 1-800-RedCross.

Closings:

• Chatham County offices are closed through Wednesday Sept. 4
• City of Savannah offices are closed through Thursday, Sept. 5
• Chatham County Courts are closed through Thursday, Sept. 5
• Savannah Chatham County Public School System is closed through Friday, Sept. 6

Savannah Animal Care on West Bryant Street will be open 24/7 for stray or unattended animals and pet emergencies during the storm.

The emergency departments of St. Josephs/Candler and Memorial hospitals are open.

Chatham Emergency Services has arranged with Chatham County Marine Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard to be transported patients off the barrier islands of Chatham County in case of flooded roads. A dedicated paramedic is assigned to Skidaway Island and a paramedic ambulance crew is dedicated to the Chatham County Detention Center.

I-16 will continue to be westbound only for all lanes until further notice. Chatham Area Transit (CAT) is suspended until further notice. Talmadge Bridge is closed until further notice. The bridges onto Tybee Island, Wilmington Island, and Whitemarsh Island are not scheduled to close at this time.

Weather update:

Additionally, the National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for portions of north and central Georgia.

A Wind Advisory is in effect from 11 a.m. Wednesday through 8 a.m. Thursday generally along and east of a line from McRae to Summertown. Winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph will be possible, the NWS said.

Isolated to scattered thunderstorms are possible across portions of east central Georgia today and into the overnight hour as Hurricane Dorian passes to the east. A few storms may become strong, capable of producing brief gusty winds, locally heavy rainfall, and occasional lightning, the NWS said.

As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, Hurricane Dorian is a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph and is moving NNW toward the Georgia coast at 8 mph.

The center of Dorian will continue to move just offshore the Florida coast and continue moving initially northwest and move just offshore the Georgia coastline by later Wednesday into early Thursday before turning northeastward toward the Carolinas.

A weakened but still dangerous Hurricane Dorian continues its crawl along the Southeast coast Wednesday after battering Florida overnight, but staying far enough off the coast to spare the state of the destructive winds left that pulverized the northwest Bahamas and left at least seven dead in the northwest Bahamas. Now a category 2 storm, Dorian is poised to bring a full-on assault to Georgia and the Carolinas.

Those areas could see a three-pronged threat of "destructive winds, flooding rains and life-threatening storm surges," the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday morning.

As Dorian moves northward, 21 counties in Georgia are under emergency declarations, is expected to see the brunt of Dorian's wrath Wednesday as the storm moves "dangerously close" to the Georgia coast Wednesday evening.

Destructive storm surges of between three and five feet are forecast, according to current models from the National Hurricane Center.

Related coverage:

• Hurricane Dorian To Pummel Georgia, Carolinas With Triple Threat
• Hurricane Dorian Puts More GA Counties Under State Of Emergency
• East Cobb Animal Shelter Rescues Dorian-Displaced Cats
• Hurricane Dorian: Savannah Closing Evacuation Area Tuesday Night

Dorian was packing category 5 winds when it hit the Bahamas, making it "perhaps the worst hurricane ever" to have struck the islands Michael Scott, the chairman of the government-owned Grand Lucayan Resort and Casino on Grand Bahama Island, told The New York Times. The resort was operating as a shelter because many designated shelters were damaged.

Updated forecasts for north and central Georgia and messaging on Dorian can be found on the local NWS webpage and Twitter feed.