Major Hurricane Fiona: More rain, flooding to islands; bigger & stronger

Major Hurricane Fiona is barreling over Turk and Caicos as a category 3 hurricane. Life-threatening flash floods continue over the eastern portions of the Dominican Republic.

Fiona continues to move rather slow, at 10 mph to the north-northwest and it is forecast to continue doing so until at least Wednesday morning. The hurricane will gradually pick up speed and make a north-northeast turn, heading toward Bermuda late Thursday evening.

Fiona is not expected to hit Bermuda directly but will pass just to the west of the small island. This path will keep Fiona’s most active and dangerous side over Bermuda.

Fiona will also continue to strengthen. By Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, Fiona is forecast to reach category 4 hurricane status with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph. It will likely start as a category 4 hurricane throughout the rest of the week and then transition to an extratropical cyclone, which would expand its wind field greatly as it moves closer to Newfoundland.

Heavy rainfall will continue in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico’s western side. Rainfall totals across the eastern Dominican Republic could reach up to 25 inches and across parts of Puerto Rico, another 2 to 4 inches could fall on Tuesday. This is after Puerto Rico registered over 30 inches of rain during the entire event. For Turk and Caicos there could be an additional 8 inches of rain on Tuesday. Life-threatening flash floods will continue to pose a risk across the central Caribbean and Turk and Caicos.

In case you hear some still doubt this system will not impact the eastern coast of the United States directly. There could be some life-threatening rip currents and larger wave action due to the size and strength of the hurricane. We do not forecast for Fiona to make an unexpected turn to the west as the atmospheric pattern is moving Fiona northward and away from the U.S.

This week won't be the best time to go swimming along East Florida beaches as the risk of life-threatening rip current continue to increase. As Fiona moves northward the threat of rip currents will continue to increase across the Eastern Seaboard. Remember Fiona's wind field will continue to expand, which could bring breezy to windy conditions along coastal regions. More than usual.