Watching Joaquin: Hurricane Could Threaten East Coast

Hurricane Joaquin remains a Category 4 storm that’s now battering the Bahamas, but the East Coast may dodge one bullet this weekend if the storm keeps to its offshore path, Weather.com and CNN report.

The eastward shift in the track of Hurricane Joaquin continued Friday morning with the updated 5am forecast track from the National Hurricane Center.

Emergency preparations began as far north as New York, and officials in the Bahamas urged people to brace for up to 15 inches (37 centimeters) of rain.

However, the government of the Bahamas has continued with Hurricane Warnings for the Central and Northwestern Bahamas including the Abacos, Berry Islands, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama Island, and New Providence.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for the remainder of the southeastern Bahamas including the Turks and Caicos Islands, Andros Island and the Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Los Tunas, Holguin, and Guantanamo.

The storm was predicted to turn to the north and northwest toward the United States late Thursday or Friday, but forecasters were still gathering data to determine how it might affect the U.S.

Sustained winds of up to 210 km/h (130mph) were reported in parts of the eastern Bahamas, the US National Hurricane Centre said.

At 8 a.m., the center of the Category 4 hurricane was about 45 miles south-southeast of San Salvador. Storm that achieve Category 3 status or greater are consider major hurricanes. On Thursday afternoon, areas in the central Bahamas were being battered by the slow moving storm. And regardless of whether Joaquin makes landfall, it probably will cause plenty of rain and more flooding along an already soaked East Coast. Central and eastern North Carolina will see breaks in the rain during the day Saturday, but spotty showers are still possible. 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.

A few fluctuations in intensity are possible during the next 24 hours.