Hurricane Dorian is predicted to be a Category 4 storm when it makes landfall in the U.S. on Monday. This would make Hurricane Dorian the strongest storm to hit Florida since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, according to CBS News.
On Friday (Aug. 30), Dorian strengthened to a Category 3 storm with winds up to 115 mph. It’s predicted that the storm could increase to a Category 4 storm before making landfall in South Florida late Monday or early Tuesday.
With winds up to 140 mph, Dorian could, potentially, be as devastating as Andrew was for the region. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Hurricane Andrew caused more than $25 billion in damages and was blamed for 44 deaths.
In a video he tweeted on Thursday, President Trump also compared Hurricane Dorian to the 1992 hurricane. “All indications are it’s going to hit very hard and it’s going to be very big,” Trump said, going as far to call Dorian “an absolute monster.”
State of emergencies are already in effect for all of Florida and 12 counties in Georgia and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has activated more than 2,500 Florida National Guard troops to help with the storm. The National Weather Service has reported as much as 18 inches of rain could hit the Southeast U.S., but the National Hurricane Center has warned that the slow-moving Dorian’s path could change over the weekend.