Trump displayed a National Weather Service map on Wednesday in the Oval Office showing the probable path of Dorian altered to include a portion of Alabama, contradicting the actual forecast at the time.

The map's crudely drawn curved black line, apparently drawn with a Sharpie, caused a flap that has consumed White House even as the storm has moved well away from the US.

"I would like very much to stop referring to this ridiculous story, but the LameStream Media just won't let it alone," Trump huffed on Saturday.

"They always have to have the last word, even though they know they are defrauding & deceiving the public."

The bruhaha started after Trump tweeted on September 1 that in addition to Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, will most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated."

When news reports pointed out that Alabama wasn't among the states threatened at the time, Trump took to Twitter multiple times during the week to defend his mention of Alabama.

The New York Times said that Friday was the sixth straight day that Trump attempted to prove that he was right.

Trump quibbled in his tweets on Saturday over the wording in the story, using capital letters for emphasis.

"I said, VERY EARLY ON, that it MAY EVEN hit Alabama. A BIG DIFFERENCE," Trump tweeted. He said the it was NOT TRUE that he forecast the storm to include Alabama.

Adding to the strife was a tweet by the National Weather Service's office in Birmingham, Alabama, that came after the president's initial tweet.

"Alabama will NOT see any impacts from #Dorian," the office said September 1. "We repeat, no impacts from Hurricane #Dorian will be felt across Alabama. The system will remain too far east."

The war of words over what some media are calling "Sharpie gate" - named after the president's favoured brand of marker pen - may well drag into another day.

Australian Associated Press