Weather conditions across Delmarva, especially the southern part of the region, will start to deteriorate over the next 12-24 hours as Hurricane Dorian makes its way northeastward.
But, Delaware will likely feel “limited impacts” from the storm.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey have been watching Hurricane Dorian for over a week now.
And as the storm meanders north-northeastward battering the Carolinas, meteorologist Dean Iovino says they are now fairly confident the First State will be spared any significant effects.
“Friday we are anticipating rain showers for most of Delaware during a good part of the day and continuing into Friday night and it looks like the winds will pick up to about 15- to 20-miles-per-hour with some gusts up to around 30-miles-per hour in most of the State,” Iovino said.
Iovino notes higher wind gusts are possible Friday along the beaches, especially in Sussex County and that means rough surf conditions.
“We’re focusing mainly on just - as far as the greatest impact would be - the rough surf along the coast and a high rip current risk too. I know the water is still warm and there’s that pull toward some people visiting the beaches still. Granted it won’t be the best of weather but things are going to be quite rough.”
Iovino says even after Dorian passes Delmarva, the surf is expected to remain dangerous for swimmers through Saturday.
Iovino adds he's confident there won't be a last minute curveball from Dorian that changes the forecast for the First State.
“Thankfully the forecast has been fairly consistent over the past few days. So it doesn’t look like there would be any significant changes in the path at this point. It’s a fairly high-confidence forecast that after it brushes the North Carolina coast, it should take a turn to the northeast and move out to sea,” said Iovino.
