Hurricane Dorian weakens to Category 2; winds slow down to 110 mph

Hurricane Dorian has weakened to Category 2 as winds slow down to 110 mph.

Hurricane Dorian has been downgraded to Category 2 as winds slowed down to 110 mph on Thursday. Initially a Category 5 hurricane, Dorain lashed the Carolinas on Thursday, driving rain and fierce winds as it neared the US east coast after devastating the Bahamas and killing at least 20 people.

Hurricanes with winds between 96-110 mph are termed as Category 2 according to Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale. Category 2 hurricanes are also not considered major hurricanes. Hurricane Dorian was downgraded to Category 2 on Tuesday as well but increase in its winds notched it up to Category 3.

11am ET UPDATE: #Dorian 's winds have lowered to 110 mph, making it a category 2 hurricane. However, the impacts still remains the same! Stay aware as Dorian crawls to the North-northeast pic.twitter.com/qfOd9fCNwk

— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) September 5, 2019

Meanwhile, in the US, parts of downtown Charleston were flooded on Thursday, with video footage showing people kayaking in the dark in gushing knee-deep water in the stately city on the coast of South Carolina. Dozens of streets were reported closed as up to 20 inches of rain was forecast and forecasters warned of flash flooding.