The official forecast path for the center of Joaquin no longer includes the U.S. East Coast.

The official forecast path for the center of Joaquin no longer includes the U.S. East Coast.

At 5 a.m. EDT Friday, the eye of Hurricane Joaquin was centered about 20 miles northeast of Clarence Town, which is on Long Island in the Bahamas.

Maximum sustained winds are around 130 mph, making Joaquin a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

Hurricane warnings remain in effect for a large part of the Bahamas. Tropical storm warnings are up for the Turks and Caicos Islands and eastern Cuba.

Hurricane-force wind gusts have been reported on a few of the islands in the central Bahamas, but most weather observation sites near the eye of Joaquin are no longer reporting data.

Joaquin underwent rapid intensification from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane in less than 36 hours, and may fluctuate in intensity Friday before a slow weakening begins this weekend.

This system is gradually making its anticipated northward turn and will finally depart The Bahamas Saturday.

Dangerous coastal and inland flooding is still expected for several states along the U.S. East Coast through the weekend despite the low likelihood of Joaquin making landfall.

For now, Joaquin is expected to pass sufficiently west of Bermuda Sunday to limit any direct impacts.
http://www.weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/hurricane-joaquin-bahamas-atlantic-east-coast-bermuda-2015