JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Hurricane Dorian made its way felt along the First Coast on Wednesday, sending waves far onshore, flooding roads and tearing down trees.
Check the live blog below for the latest updates on Hurricane Dorian as well as its impacts on both the First Coast and the Bahamas.
Wednesday
11 p.m. Dorian strengthened back to a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour as it starts to pull away from the First Coast.
9:59 p.m.: Wow! Check out this mesmerizing timelapse of purple skies as the sun sets. The colorful phenomenon, known as "scattering," also happened last year with Hurricane Michael.
First Coast sees purple skies after Hurricane Dorian
9:15 p.m.: Businesses that were closed due to the hurricane are beginning to reopen. Click/tap here to see our running list.
8:45 p.m.: An Atlantic Beach retirement community was given the royal treatment by FEMA when they were evacuated to hotels around Jacksonville to keep safe during Hurricane Dorian.
7:44 p.m: The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens plans to reopen its doors with half-price admission on Thursday after being temporarily closed due to Hurricane Dorian.
7:39 p.m.: First Coast News reporters shared photos of a spectacular sunset following a day of covering Hurricane Dorian.
7:33 p.m.: While many were dealing with evacuations, Orange Park Medical Center featured a different kind of evacuee -- infants born during Hurricane Dorian.
6:56 p.m: The official death toll for Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas has jumped from seven to 20, according to officials.
6:13 p.m.: It didn't take long for surfers to return to Flagler Beach.
6:00 p.m.: Mayor Curry holds a press conference announcing that all city offices will reopen on Thursday, Sept. 5.
"We dodged the big one on this," he said.
5:36 p.m.: Gator spotting! This little guy was spotted swimming in the ditches near Fleming Island.
5:01 p.m.: Counties along the First Coast are starting to lift evacuations and curfews. Click/tap here to see the full list.
4:34 p.m.: The evacuation order for Atlantic Beach will be lifted at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 4. Officials ask that everyone stays out of the water for now, as conditions are still very rough and unsafe.
4:14 p.m.: Beach Boulevard is looking far different than it did just a few hours ago.
3:50 p.m.: Mayor Curry announces mandatory evacuations will be lifted at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 4.
3:00 p.m. We're starting to see more photos of the damage caused by Hurricane Dorian across the First Coast. The Jax Sheriff's Office posted these photos of damage at Hannah Park.
2:41: Waters rushes over the Intracoastal Waterway in Fernandina Beach
2:30 p.m.: YIKES! Highway A1A is expected to shut down after Dorian sent ocean water over the roadway.
2:00 p.m.: The mandatory evacuations and curfew in place in Flagler County were lifted earlier Wednesday afternoon, sending groups of people to the beach to check out the surf.
1:50 p.m. Duval County's beaches are closed and the area is under a mandatory evacuation. That's not stopping people from flocking to the oceanfront and some are attempting to swim. Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry is encouraging them stop. They're not listening. One woman almost drowned and had to be saved by a life guard after getting in the water.
1:10 p.m. Jessica Clark observes the flooding on Anastasia Island in St. Augustine on Wednesday during Hurricane Dorian. The island also flooded during Hurricane Matthew in September 2016.
Jessica spotted two boaters during her live shot. "This is our Olympics," one of the men said.
12:41 p.m.: First Coast News' Michael Aaron reporting from Flagler Beach, Fla. on Wednesday as Hurricane Dorian sends waves smashing into the pier.
12:31 p.m.: WOW! The Lakeshore area has a ton of large trees. This is a photo is some of the damage in the area.
11:50 a.m.: What an amazing save! A Neptune Beach lifeguard was able to save a woman who was washed out into the current. Police said that she was standing on the shore when the current came, knocked her down, and pulled her in.
11:04 a.m.: Anyone lose a boat? A sailboat has broken loose along the Intracoastal near the Beach Boulevard bridge and ended up along the rocks.
10:55 a.m.: Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry talks safety during Hurricane Dorian. He warns that 'the worst is yet to come' and that people should still get off the beaches.
10:42 a.m.: Listen up Fernandina Beach! Stacy Smith shared this picture with us of a large oak blocking 14th Street in Fernandina Beach. That area will continue to see the worst of the weather until around 8 p.m.
10:25 a.m.: Even though the area is under mandatory evacuation notice, barefooted teens can be seen skating around Jacksonville Beach on skateboards with umbrellas.
10:06 a.m.: Outages still impacting 600+ homes in Flagler County area. REMINDER: The SR100 Bridge is closed to non-residents.
10 a.m. A massive tree crashed into the back of an Arlington home.
9:49 a.m.: If you thought Dorian was moving slow, this guy is probably moving even slower. Josslyn Howard rescued a turtle from the road during her LIVE coverage of Hurricane Dorian. That's turtle-ly awesome! 🐢
9:04 a.m.: As skies turned gray and rain started pouring, our St. Augustine field team was treated to a hot breakfast by one of our viewers. Now that's a community who cares! Thank you so much from the First Coast News team.
8:52 a.m.: Omaha! Omaha! This is what we need to get Hurricane Dorian outta here and it's on its way! Tim Deegan's calling it the 'Omaha Kicker,' It's pretty important because it's on a collision course with Hurricane Dorian and it's going to boot it outta her.
8:38 a.m.: Strong winds and choppy waters reported along the St John’s River.
8:15 a.m.: Lewis Turner reports from Jacksonville Beach where wind gusts make the sand blow behind him like snow.
8:00 a.m. advisory: The eye of the storm is roughly 135 miles east-southeast of Jacksonville and is moving toward the north-northwest at 8 miles per hour.
7:50 a.m.: Erosion becomes apparent at St. Augustine Beach. The sand took a beating from Tuesday's waves, the ocean’s tide rose all the way to the sea wall.
7:48 a.m.: Dorian impacts on the First Coast through our Wednesday with the heaviest wind and rain along the I-95 corridor to the coast, and offshore. Significant improvements by the time we're waking up early Thursday.
6:34 a.m.: Alex Osiadacz reports from Palm Coast as Hurricane Dorian moves in. He says that the rain feels like 'little needles' as it comes down from the sky.
5:03 a.m.Over 1,200 outages are reported in Duval County. All bridges are still open, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
5 a.m. As of 5 a.m., the eyewall of the storm is roughly 130 miles from Jacksonville and is moving toward the north-northwest at 8 miles per hour.
4 a.m. All bridges remain open, according to JSO. JSO says bridges will close once sustained winds reach 40 mph.
3:30 a.m. Hurricane Dorian is impacting Palm Coast, bringing heavy rain and strong winds. Power outages were also reported, causing FPL to respond and fix the outages as soon as possible.
3:10 a.m. Waves lash Porpoise Point during high tides as Hurricane Dorian's outer bands enter the First Coast.
3:08 a.m. All bridges remain open, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
3 a.m. Wind gusts at Jacksonville Beach are reported at 50 mph.
2:49 p.m. The tide rises at the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine as Hurricane Dorian moves into the First Coast.
2:12 a.m. Wind gusts in the Matanzas-Summerhouse area are reported at 57 mph. At the St. Augustine Airport, wind gusts are reported at 47 mph.
2 a.m. Hurricane Dorian begins to move into the First Coast. Latest updates show St. Johns and Flagler counties should expect to feel 75 mph gusts, 4-7 inches of rainfall and storm surge from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday.
1:14 a.m. The tides are rising at St. Augustine Beach with water creeping over the seawall. The First Coast is beginning to feel the effects of Hurricane Dorian as it inches up the Florida east coast.
12:56 a.m. More than 32,000 WiFi hotspots have opened across Florida in preparation of Hurricane Dorian's arrival. The thousands of hotspots can be found from Volusia County to Pinellas County, courtesy of Charter Communications and are available to all users, according to the Charter website.
12:23 a.m. The wind at Clay County's Black Creek picks up "tremendously" as Hurricane Dorian approaches the First Coast, according to FCN reporter Alex Livingston.
Tuesday
11:51 p.m. FCN reporter Alex Osiadacz is in Palm Coast where he reports street lights are going in and out of power because of the heavy winds and rain from Dorian's bands.
11 p.m. As of 11 p.m., the center of the storm is less than 200 miles from Jacksonville and is moving toward the northwest at 6 miles per hour. Dorian is a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour.
10:30 p.m. FCN reporter Alex Osiadacz is already feeling the strong winds and rain of Hurricane Dorian in Flagler County.
10 p.m. Several counties along the First Coast are enacting nightly curfews ahead of Hurricane Dorian's arrival.
9 p.m. Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said Tuesday night the death toll from Hurricane Dorian has risen to seven and that more deaths are expected.
7:30 p.m. Aerial footage and photos from the Bahamas show widespread destruction from Hurricane Dorian.
