As Hurricane Dorian moves closer to the coast as a Category 4 hurricane, what should Pike County expect to see from the storm?

“Nothing at this point,” said EMA Director Herb Reeves. “We’re in the clear unless it changes paths again. The primary concern is about the east coast of Florida up into Georgia and South Carolina; it looks like a non-event here.”

That projection was based on an expected northern turn of Dorian that had still not occurred as of 2 p.m. Monday. Reeves said the storm is expected to make that turn late Monday into Tuesday and “skirt up the east Florida coast,” making it’s way north as the week progress.

Although it appears that Pike County is in the clear, Reeves said residents should keep an eye on the storm in case the tracks do start to shift westward.

“If it continues west across Florida, we would have concern but based on all the forecasts it looks like it will turn north,” Reeves said.

Dorian is a powerful but small hurricane with hurricane-force winds Sunday only extending 29 miles to the west, but they are expecting to grow a bit. That makes forecasting the storm’s path along the coast — either just off the coast, skirting it or moving inland with a direct hit — delicate and difficult. Just a few miles west or east makes the difference between devastation and bad but not horrible damage, meteorologists said.

“Where it doesn’t directly hit, it’s not going to be a huge problem,” Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach said.

With Pike County seemingly safe from Dorian, Reeves said residents need to stay alert during this peak of hurricane season, as there are already two more disturbances being monitored that could develop into hurricanes in the coming weeks. One in the gulf is primarily a threat to Mexico and Texas and the other is still out in the Atlantic near the coast of Africa, too far away to tell whether and when it could impact the U.S.