Update:
As Dorian has approached Florida the hype has also died down. Accurate wind speeds are now being reported.
As pictures come in from The Bahamas, where I observed (via Windy.com and Ventusky.com 127 mph sustained, it is apparent that much of the damage is from storm surge flooding. No point on the islands is above 40 feet above sea level.
Houses are often seen with shingles and windows intact. Considerer this:
Most shingles today have a “wind rating” of 110 miles per hour, and some go up to 130 miles per hour. That is, they are rated to stay on your roof up to a wind speed of 110 (or even 130) miles per hour. 75% of all TORNADOES have a wind speed of 112 miles per hour OR LESS.
A category 1 hurricane can do some major damage, especially to manufactured homes, ripping them apart during sustained 80 mph winds. 100 mile per hour sustained winds: a category 2 hurricane. A category 4 has the power to take off whole roofs of newer houses, it will bring down every tree in the neighborhood making roads impassable for weeks."
Tropical Storms can have sustained winds of 39-73 mph. Shingles can come flying off at around 70 mph winds.
https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/how-much-damage-can-be-done-at-different-wind-speeds/329655751
They are saying this was a category 5 there: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/hurricane-dorian-category-5-right-now-could-it-be-a-category-6-no/ar-AAGEBC6
This is what a category 5 does:
Extremely catastrophic damage will occur
Category 5 is the highest category of the Saffir–Simpson scale. These storms cause complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings, and some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. Collapse of many wide-span roofs and walls, especially those with no interior supports, is common. Very heavy and irreparable damage to many wood frame structures and total destruction to mobile/manufactured homes is prevalent. Only a few types of structures are capable of surviving intact, and only if located at least 3 to 5 miles (5 to 8 km) inland. They include office, condominium and apartment buildings and hotels that are of solid concrete or steel frame construction, multi-story concrete parking garages, and residences that are made of either reinforced brick or concrete/cement block and have hipped roofs with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal and no overhangs of any kind, and if the windows are either made of hurricane-resistant safety glass or covered with shutters. Unless all of these requirements are met, the absolute destruction of a structure is certain.[5]
If you go to www.wunderground.com you can find individual weather stations owned by private individuals and companies like you and me. They buy their own instruments and feed it live to the wunderground.com. They provide some ground truth independent of government and MSM.
The last time there was a supposedly major hurricane the ground stations showed much less wind. Sure enough, the damage was way less than the MSM and government had been talking about. Now with Dorian they seem to be doing the same thing.
The data from Weather Underground stations match Windy.com which match Ventusky.com. They all show much much less wind than the alarmist MSM is saying. Ignore the headlines.
Look at the data.
The Station at the Zoo at West Palm Beach Florida is here: https://www.wunderground.com/weather/us/fl/west-palm-beach/33401.
The PGA Station at West Palm Beach is here: https://www.wunderground.com/weather/us/fl/west-palm-beach/33401
Look at their forecasts.
You can select "Change" near the top to pick another local weather station. See for yourself and share.
Ventusky.com, Weather Underground and Windy.com all agree with the same much more modest current readings and forecasts, and do not match the headlines.