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VERIFY: Yes, Hurricanes Can Weaken Without Making Landfall

You ask; we VERIFY. Hurricane Dorian weakened from a category five to a category three as it sat over the Bahamas, and landfall wasn’t the cause.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — It's the strongest storm on the planet this year, and for three days, the monster beast Dorian hardly budged as it assaulted the Bahamas. 

When it hit Grand Bahama, it was a fierce category five, but by Tuesday morning, it had weakened to a category two as it crawled closer to Florida. Given the small size of the Bahamian islands, land interaction was no match for Dorian and did not help it slow down.

VERIFY QUESTION

Is it true a hurricane can weaken without making landfall?

VERIFY SOURCE

  • Meteorologist Terran Kirksey

VERIFY PROCESS

Chilton said yes, it's true. 

"Basically, as a hurricane approaches land, the outer bands of the storm start to move over the terrain, and the friction of that slows down and disrupts the general flow of the hurricane," he explained.

Chilton said the friction weakens the entire system, little by little. Just how much the storm weakens depends on its strength before it moves ashore.

VERIFY CONCLUSION

Yes, a hurricane can weaken without directly hitting land, and that is what is happening with Dorian as it gets closer to Florida.

RELATED: DORIAN UPDATE: Moving North Now Toward NC, Hurricane Warnings and Watches for SC/NC Coast: What We Can Expect

RELATED: LIVE BLOG: Entire NC Coastline Under Hurricane Watch, Inland Areas Under Tropical Storm Watch

RELATED: Hurricane Dorian: Samaritan's Purse Airlifting Relief To Bahamas

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