Hurricane Joaquin still a Category 4 storm affecting the Bahamas

To help analysts assess potential storm effects, the US Energy Information Administration maintains an energy disruptions map that displays energy infrastructure and real-time storm information.

Joaquin rumbled Friday in the central Bahamas as a Category 4 hurricane with 130 miles per hour winds.

Up to 25 inches of rain are possible in a few areas of the central Bahamas, according to the NWS.

The storm could bring total rain accumulations of 250 to 380 mm over central portions of Bahamas, with a chance for localized amounts closer to 500 mm. Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia were under states of emergency.

Because of the storm’s proximity to the coast, high winds, rainfall, and flooding will potentially affect energy infrastructure such as power transmission and distribution lines, petroleum refineries, natural gas processing plants, and distribution terminals.

As for the rainstorm in the U.S., its fatal unpredictability was shown when a Thursday morning downpour dumped 4 inches on Spartanburg, South Carolina, causing flash floods that submerged several cars.

The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore is broadcasting live from The Battery. The storm’s impact on the East Coast, which is already suffering from flooding and heavy rains, remains unclear.

Joaquin will move northward much of this weekend, roughly paralleling the East Coast, according to Accuweather.

In the Bahamas, Joaquin maintained its leisurely pace, blasting the islands with ferocious wind, rain and surf.

A U.S. Coast Guard plane was “searching for missing 737′ container ship w/ crew of 33 near eye of #Hurricane #Joaquin”, the guard said Friday on Twitter. The first being a trough digging into the Atlantic coast, which could force Joaquin to turn north, with the Outer Banks of North Carolina in sight.

The hunters watch storms closely whenever there is a system developing that may threaten land.

While this updated forecast provides a collective relief for many along the Eastern Seaboard, it’s not time to celebrate yet.

It says the saturation of the ground after heavy rainfall this week means there is a risk of flooding if it does track across land. High tide comes around noon and there are areas that could get up to 3 feet of storm surge. The Post frames the latter as a “major concern”, and CNN meteorologist Rachel Aissen predicts the flooding in South Carolina could be “historic”.

Could it still make landfall in U.S.?

What would a “best case scenario” look like?

Buccola said the front now affecting Long Island is likely to start moving northwest beginning Saturday afternoon.

After saying early Friday morning that the city would activate its Emergency Operations Center, D.C. has reversed course and opted against doing so as the hurricane tracks away from the District.