The Latest: Category 4 Hurricane Dorian growing stronger

MIAMI (AP) — The Latest on Hurricane Dorian (all times local):

11 p.m.

Forecasters say Hurricane Dorian, hours after become an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm, has gotten even stronger.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Dorian is now packing top sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph) as it approaches the northwestern Bahamas. The storm hours earlier had winds of about 130 mph (215 kph).

At 11 p.m. EDT Friday, Dorian was centered about 375 miles (605 kilometers) east of the northwestern Bahamas. That was about 545 miles (880 kilometers) east of West Palm Beach, Florida.

The storm is moving to the west-northwest at 10 mph (17 kph). The Miami-based center says Dorian should be near or over the northwestern Bahamas on Sunday and be near Florida’s east coast by late Monday.

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8:30 p.m.

Forecasters say Dorian has become an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 hurricane.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says Dorian gained new strength in recent hours and now has maximum sustained winds near 130 mph (215 kph).

It says in an updated statement at 8:30 p.m. EDT Friday that hurricane hunter aircraft detected the change in strength recently.

The storm is centered about 400 miles (645 kilometers) east of the northwestern Bahamas.

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8 p.m.

Hurricane Dorian has gotten a little stronger in recent hours and more strengthening is expected.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says Dorian now has top sustained winds of 125 mph (205 kph) as it edges closer to the northwestern Bahamas.

At 8 p.m. EDT Friday, the center of Dorian was about 400 miles (645 kilometers) east of the northwestern Bahamas. That’s about 575 miles (925 kilometers) east of West Palm Beach, Florida.

The hurricane is headed west-northwest at 10 mph (17 kph).

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7:30 p.m.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is urging residents to closely monitor Hurricane Dorian as it approaches the state’s east coast.

DeSantis pointed out during a Friday evening briefing that no one had accurately predicted the final path of Hurricane Irma three days before it made its U.S. landfall in 2017. Dorian is expected hit Florida late Monday or early Tuesday.

The National Hurricane Center is predicting landfall near the center of the state, but no evacuations have been ordered yet. DeSantis says residents need to comply when mandatory evacuations take effect.

DeSantis said: “There is a danger to your life if you remain in these evacuation zones.”

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6:15 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he’s spoken with officials in Florida and Georgia ahead of the expected landfall of a potentially devastating Hurricane Dorian this weekend.

Trump said Friday he spoke with U.S. Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio of Florida, as well as with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, about preparations for the storm. Trump is traveling to Camp David in Maryland, where he will monitor the storm after he canceled his planned trip this weekend to Poland.

Trump says he will visit Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington on Sunday for a briefing before the storm is expected to make landfall.

(This item has been corrected to show that Rick Scott is currently a U.S. senator representing Florida.)

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5:10 p.m.

Forecasters say “extremely dangerous” Hurricane Dorian is edging closer to the northwestern Bahamas.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Dorian remains a powerful Category 3 storm with top sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph). At 5 p.m. EDT, Dorian was centered about 420 miles (675 kph) east of the northwestern Bahamas. That’s also about 595 miles (960 kilometers) east of West Palm, Beach, Florida.

The government of the Bahamas has issued a hurricane warning for several islands in the northwest region of that island chain. Hurricane conditions are expected in the hurricane warning area of the northwestern Bahamas by Sunday.

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4:55 p.m.

Officials at Florida’s largest airport say it will halt commercial flight operations early Monday in anticipation of Hurricane Dorian.

Officials at Orlando International Airport said in a statement Friday that airplanes will stop flying in and out of the airport starting at 2 a.m. Monday. Airport officials say that will give Orlando International Airport’s 25,000 workers enough time to secure their homes and be with their families.

The airport had 47.7 million passengers travel through it last year.

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4:45 p.m.

Hurricane Dorian, now a massive Category 3 hurricane, is moving toward the east coast of Florida.

As the storm approaches the U.S. and continues to gain strength, preparations are underway ahead of its pending landfall, expected sometime Sunday or Monday.

WSFA-TV reports the Federal Emergency Management Agency is moving personnel and 18-wheelers loaded with supplies into position. One of the staging areas is Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery.

And, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey says she gave approval Friday for the Alabama National Guard to send up to 50 support personnel to Florida, should the need arise.

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2:20 p.m.

AAA says there’s plenty of gas in Florida as Hurricane Dorian approaches. It’s just a matter of getting it to the state’s gas stations.

The auto and travel service group said Friday in a statement that retailers are having trouble keeping up with surging demand since gas stations can only hold so much fuel at a time.

AAA says Florida will continue to get shipments of gas as long as its ports stay open.

The primary delivery points are ports in Jacksonville, Tampa, and Fort Lauderdale. From the ports, the fuel is delivered to gas stations by tanker trucks.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered state troopers to escort the trucks to the gas stations.

Dorian strengthened to a major Category 3 hurricane Friday, capable of inflicting devastating damage. It is expected to reach the Florida coast by late Monday or early Tuesday.

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2 p.m.

Hurricane Dorian has strengthened to a major Category 3 storm. The National Hurricane Center in Miami says the hurricane is “extremely dangerous” and poses a significant threat to Florida and the northwestern Bahamas.

Dorian was located 445 miles (715 kilometers) east of the northwest Bahamas at 2 p.m. EDT on Friday. It had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph) and was moving northwest at 10 mph (17 kph).

A hurricane watch was in effect for northwestern Bahamas. Hurricane conditions are possible by Sunday.

The center said additional strengthening is expected as the storm approaches the Florida peninsula.

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12:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump has declared an emergency in the state of Florida as it braces for the brunt of Hurricane Dorian .

Trump, whose Florida properties could sustain damage, has warned that Dorian could be an “absolute monster.”

In issuing the emergency declaration, Trump has ordered federal assistance to supplement state and local efforts responding to Dorian. The storm is expected to strengthen into a potentially catastrophic Category 4 form and slam the Florida coast late Monday or early Tuesday.

Trump canceled a weekend trip to Poland so he could stay in Washington to monitor the storm.

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11:30 a.m.

The sounds of hammers banging into plywood and cash registers dinging are echoing across the Bahamas as the archipelago that lies southeast of Florida rushes to prepare for Hurricane Dorian .

The Category 2 storm is expected to strengthen in its approach to the northwest Bahamas on Saturday and then move over or near that region Sunday.

Dorian was located 480 miles (770 kilometers) east of the northwest Bahamas at 11 a.m. EDT on Friday. It had maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph) and was moving northwest at 10 mph (17 kph).

A hurricane watch was in effect for northwestern Bahamas, where long lines formed at gas stations and grocery stores Friday. Supplies like canned food and bottled water were quickly disappearing in Grand Bahama Island.

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10:40 a.m.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urges residents to listen to their local officials as they decide whether to evacuate before Hurricane Dorian hits the state early next week.

At a Friday briefing in Tallahassee, DeSantis said the storm’s uncertain path and the fact that the impacts from Dorian won’t be felt as early as initially anticipated means county emergency management officials are “taking the time to digest what it means and then make decisions.”

The governor said there will be evacuations. But he added that if people evacuate too soon, they could be heading into the path of the storm if the path changes.

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9 a.m.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says it’s concerned by Hurricane Dorian’s slow motion as it approaches Florida’s coast.

The Hurricane Center says slow movement by the storm as it hits Florida would put parts of the state “at an increasing risk of a prolonged, drawn-out event of strong winds, dangerous storm surge and heavy rainfall.”

The storm is expected to increase to a major Category 3 hurricane later in the day Friday and could hit the U.S. on Tuesday as a Category 4 storm.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency, clearing the way to bring in more fuel. Georgia’s governor has followed suit.

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8 a.m.

Hurricane Dorian has gotten a little stronger as it moves toward Florida’s East Coast.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the storm’s maximum sustained winds increased Friday morning to near 110 mph (175 kph). The Hurricane Center says more strengthening is forecast and Dorian is expected to become a major hurricane later in the day.

Dorian is centered about 255 miles (410 kilometers) east-northeast of the southeastern Bahamas and is moving northwest near 12 mph (19 kph).

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7:25 a.m.

With Hurricane Dorian heading toward Florida’s East Coast, Florida Power and Light has activated its emergency response plan.

The company says in a news release that it has secured some 13,000 employees and additional personnel to help restore power after the storm hits. They’re also working with utility companies across the country to pre-position crews and additional equipment in advance of Dorian’s landfall.

FPL President and CEO Eric Silagy said the company operates more than 48,000 miles (77,000 kilometers) of overhead powerlines across the state. The company says to prepare for power outages because of all the trees that surround the power lines.

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1:05 a.m.

Unsure where Hurricane Dorian is going to land over Labor Day weekend, many Florida residents faced a sense of helplessness as the storm approaches.

In a video he tweeted Thursday evening, President Donald Trump said Dorian could be an “absolute monster.”

The National Hurricane Center said the Category 2 storm is expected to strengthen into a potentially catastrophic Category 4 and slam into the U.S. on Monday somewhere between the Florida Keys and southern Georgia.

With the storm’s track still unclear, no immediate mass evacuations have been ordered.

Across much of the state, residents picked the shelves clean of bottled water and lined up at gas stations.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency, clearing the way to bring in more fuel. Georgia’s governor has followed suit.

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For AP’s complete coverage of the hurricane: https://apnews.com/Hurricanes .