No one in Florida should be taking any chances. This storm is very powerful. It is churning very, very warm water. As soon as it loses power, it regains it again. The "eye" of the storm is very tight and not at all oscillating.

Who is in the Bahamas that can speak to the storm surge?

Sometimes what is overlooked with a storm like this is that the storm surge does not immediately recede because of the dense and RAPID rains. Torrential rains will MAINTAIN the storm surge level in coastal areas until the hurricane moves out.

Storms this strong also spawn whirlpools. There is no reason for people to stay in place, AT ALL.

"Inches of rain per minute" is a factor in maintaining flooding.

...Twelve to 24 inches of rain, and up to 30 inches in some areas, were expected in the northwestern Bahamas, which could lead to life-threatening flash floods, the center said. The Tourism Ministry said only certain parts of the northwestern Bahamas had conducted evacuation procedures, and it strongly advised visitors to leave.

Steven Strouss, a meteorologist for NBC News, said that since records began in the 1850s, the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama Island had never before been directly hit by a Category 5 storm.

Authorities pleaded with people in the region to seek safety.

"Homes, houses, structures can be replaced," Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said Saturday. "Lives cannot be replaced."...

That warm water extends the entire Florida Peninsula on both the east and west coast. That higher temperature water goes up to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. That very same water is fuel for this hurricane.

Hurricane Dorian is now a massive Category 5 hurricane this morning with sustained winds of 185 mph as it makes landfall on Elbow Cay of the Abaco Islands in the Atlantic Ocean.

The National Hurricane Center is calling the storm a life-threatening situation with extreme destruction and the potential for wind gusts over 200 mph.

It is the strongest hurricane in modern record for the northwestern Bahamas. As it continues to slowly move west towards the northwestern Bahamas the outer rain bands of Dorian are expected to reach Freeport and Nassau, with more intense rain falling on Great Abaco Island. Winds are starting pick up and will continue to increase through the morning.