Hurricane Joaquin is rapidly intensifying today and is expected to impact our region in some way. Joaquin reached Category 3 status late Wednesday evening. The storm is now expected to strengthen into a Category 4 storm sometime late Thursday or Thursday night.

After it passes just northeast of the Bahamas Thursday, Joaquin will begin to turn north and parallel the East Coast on Friday and Saturday.

The storm will bring pounding surf, dangerous seas, strong winds, drenching squalls and flash flooding to the central Bahamas. Wind gusts could reach between 75 and 100 mph on some of the islands.

As a result, Joaquin will threaten lives and property in the Bahamas through Thursday, before turning northward. Bahamasair has cancelled flights for Thursday in parts of the islands.

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe issued a state of emergency on Wednesday night throughout the entire state in response to the recent flooding and in preparation for Joaquin.

Governors in surrounding mid-Atlantic states are closely monitoring the progress of the storm even though emergency declarations have not been issued.

The most likely scenario is for Joaquin to be guided westward this weekend with possible landfall between North Carolina and southern New Jersey on Sunday.

Exactly where the system rolls ashore and progresses inland will define the worst conditions in terms of wind and flooding. It is too early to say for sure exactly where Joaquin may move onshore.

Should Joaquin track into northeastern North Carolina, conditions may get very nasty over the Delmarva Peninsula with significant rain, wind and coastal flooding westward to the Chesapeake Bay, including the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore areas. Conditions could approach that of Isabel.

Should Joaquin track into the Delmarva Peninsula, then similar very rough conditions would occur from Delaware to New Jersey, including areas westward through the Delaware Bay region, including Cape May, New Jersey, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and Philadelphia. Conditions could approach or exceed that of Irene.

A less likely path for Joaquin is to stay at sea directly avoiding land, with less severe impact along the coast this weekend into early next week.

At this venture, people along the coast from the Carolinas to southern New England should be prepared for the possibility of hurricane conditions with everything from inland to coastal flooding and strong winds.

Many areas can expect rounds of heavy rain on top of what has already fallen with the next dose set to begin as early as Thursday night in the mid-Atlantic.

The result from the storms, whether or not topped off from Joaquin, will still produce widespread flooding.

Preceding the arrival or close approach of Joaquin will be another dose of heavy rain during Friday and this weekend. Motorists and airline passengers should be prepared for delays. Some neighborhoods could become flooded.