1 00:00:02,100 --> 00:00:05,100 JUDY WOODRUFF: And let's look at the latest with where Dorian is headed now and some perspective 2 00:00:05,100 --> 00:00:09,133 on just how devastating a hurricane this was for the Bahamas. 3 00:00:09,133 --> 00:00:12,966 Ken Graham is the director of the National Hurricane Center. 4 00:00:12,966 --> 00:00:15,100 Ken Graham, thank you for joining us again. 5 00:00:15,100 --> 00:00:18,500 So, give us the latest information you have on Dorian. 6 00:00:18,500 --> 00:00:23,266 KEN GRAHAM, Director, National Hurricane Center: Judy, it's still moving to the north, stationary 7 00:00:23,266 --> 00:00:24,833 over the Bahamas for so long. 8 00:00:24,833 --> 00:00:26,566 It was a devastating situation. 9 00:00:26,566 --> 00:00:29,333 It's bad enough to get hit by a Cat 5 hurricane. 10 00:00:29,333 --> 00:00:31,433 It's even worse to have it sit there. 11 00:00:31,433 --> 00:00:34,900 So, when we saw it starting to move at one mile an hour and now five miles an hour, we're 12 00:00:34,900 --> 00:00:39,133 starting to move northward, get the core of those winds away from the Bahamas, but still 13 00:00:39,133 --> 00:00:42,000 a big impact for Florida and the Carolinas with time. 14 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:46,966 JUDY WOODRUFF: And what -- how unusual is it that this storm has been sitting in one 15 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:50,400 place and staying there for so long? 16 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:54,366 KEN GRAHAM: Yes, it's pretty rare for a strong this strong to do that. 17 00:00:54,366 --> 00:00:56,200 It happens on occasion. 18 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:58,833 But it doesn't happen too often, especially a strong one like this. 19 00:00:58,833 --> 00:01:02,800 But when you lose all those steering currents, there's nothing to steer this, and it just 20 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:05,266 parks, and it just waits for the next system to steer. 21 00:01:05,266 --> 00:01:07,333 So that's a devastating situation. 22 00:01:07,333 --> 00:01:12,033 Think about 24, 30 hours of Category 5 winds and the battering of the water, and it's just 23 00:01:13,100 --> 00:01:15,133 a devastating situation for the Bahamas. 24 00:01:15,133 --> 00:01:19,866 JUDY WOODRUFF: And before I ask you about the Bahamas, tell us what you know about or 25 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,066 what you can interpret as you look at where this hurricane may go next. 26 00:01:27,066 --> 00:01:30,633 KEN GRAHAM: Yes, looking at that forecast with time, just right along the coast. 27 00:01:30,633 --> 00:01:35,000 And it's interesting, because the core winds have decreased throughout the day. 28 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:37,100 But they have expanded. 29 00:01:37,100 --> 00:01:40,633 We have seen the winds, tropical-storm-force winds go from about 120 miles from the center 30 00:01:40,633 --> 00:01:45,600 all the way to 175 miles from the center, so much larger, with time, moving ever so 31 00:01:47,033 --> 00:01:49,833 slowly, 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, still off the Florida coast. 32 00:01:49,833 --> 00:01:52,800 And by the time you get into 2:00 p.m. Thursday, it does speed up. 33 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:57,766 And we have it off the South Carolina coast and also on Friday still moving as a hurricane, 34 00:01:59,700 --> 00:02:02,366 so right along the coast of South Carolina, North Carolina, so still some impacts with 35 00:02:02,366 --> 00:02:05,266 storm surge and winds and some rainfall for the Carolinas. 36 00:02:05,266 --> 00:02:10,133 JUDY WOODRUFF: So important for everybody to pay attention to along that East Coast. 37 00:02:10,133 --> 00:02:12,800 But, Ken, I want -- I do want to bring you back to the Bahamas. 38 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:17,800 It looks as if it's been catastrophic, the damage there. 39 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:22,433 KEN GRAHAM: Yes, making landfall, you think about 180 mile-an-hour with even higher, some 40 00:02:22,433 --> 00:02:25,400 of the gusts over 200 miles an hour, just absolutely devastating. 41 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:30,400 I mean, you think about the surge of up to 23 feet, 30 inches of rain, and the winds 42 00:02:32,766 --> 00:02:35,266 battering the coastline for that long, just absolutely devastating situation, life-threatening 43 00:02:35,266 --> 00:02:37,266 situation. 44 00:02:37,266 --> 00:02:40,466 So, when we started seeing that move northward today, it's just relief that we can get at 45 00:02:40,466 --> 00:02:42,533 least the core winds away from the islands. 46 00:02:42,533 --> 00:02:47,233 JUDY WOODRUFF: You said it's unusual for a storm to sit this long in one place. 47 00:02:48,700 --> 00:02:51,866 Are those conditions that we are likely to see again? 48 00:02:51,866 --> 00:02:56,833 Are these the kinds of atmospheric conditions that can repeat themselves? 49 00:02:57,733 --> 00:02:59,633 KEN GRAHAM: Yes, you can. 50 00:02:59,633 --> 00:03:02,200 You go back in history, you can find others that did the same thing. 51 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:06,033 I can think of large storms, Florence moving so slowly. 52 00:03:06,033 --> 00:03:10,833 I go back to Betsy in 1965, a very strong major hurricane, slowing down as well. 53 00:03:10,833 --> 00:03:12,766 So you can find it in history. 54 00:03:12,766 --> 00:03:15,166 When you lose those steering currents, it's just a dangerous situation. 55 00:03:15,166 --> 00:03:18,766 You hope they're open -- over the open waters, but when they're over land, that's where you 56 00:03:18,766 --> 00:03:20,866 get the devastation. 57 00:03:20,866 --> 00:03:24,766 JUDY WOODRUFF: And you do have to look at history when you're looking at these hurricanes. 58 00:03:25,500 --> 00:03:27,466 KEN GRAHAM: Yes, you do. 59 00:03:27,466 --> 00:03:28,833 Every one of them are so different. 60 00:03:28,833 --> 00:03:30,966 They bring different types of impacts. 61 00:03:30,966 --> 00:03:34,500 And if you think about this, bringing the devastation of the Bahamas, and then going 62 00:03:34,500 --> 00:03:38,033 into the future with this path, and you start seeing the storm surge. 63 00:03:38,033 --> 00:03:42,900 This is actually our storm surge forecast for the future, all the way from Florida into 64 00:03:42,900 --> 00:03:45,266 Georgia, the Carolinas and even inland. 65 00:03:45,266 --> 00:03:48,866 You get to North Carolina, you can see some of this storm surge go miles inland. 66 00:03:48,866 --> 00:03:53,133 JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, paying close attention, and I know everyone there at the Hurricane 67 00:03:53,133 --> 00:03:55,133 Center is as well. 68 00:03:55,133 --> 00:03:58,533 Ken Graham, the director of the National Hurricane Center, thank you. 69 00:03:58,533 --> 00:04:00,366 KEN GRAHAM: Thank you.