UPDATE: As of Monday afternoon, Maria has become a dangerous category 4 hurricane with sustained 130 mph winds. It is expected to hit the Caribbean island of Dominica in the evening before moving toward Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Tuesday night.
More bad news for the islands of the Caribbean that recently rode out devastating Hurricane Irma: Hurricane Maria is getting stronger and it also seems interested in paying a visit.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami reported Monday morning that Maria is now a category three storm headed for the Leeward Islands, which took the initial hit from Irma earlier this month:
"Reports from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 120 mph (195 km/h) with higher gusts... Additional rapid strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Maria is expected to be a dangerous major hurricane as it moves through the Leeward Islands and the northeastern Caribbean Sea."
The outlook for Maria this week only gets worse, unfortunately, with the NHC's "conservative" forecasts placing it at a category 4 storm by tonight and approaching category 5 status by Tuesday night.
Scariest thing from 11am discussion highlighted below. Translation is they easily think #Maria could be a Cat 5 going into #PuertoRico pic.twitter.com/7nflUt3KFf
— Bill Karins (@BillKarins) September 18, 2017
At the moment, hurricane warnings are in effect for a number of islands including the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. Beyond those already storm-ravaged locales, Maria's track then takes it on a path towards Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin islands could see a storm surge of six to nine feet and rainfall anywhere from six to 25 inches, according to the NHC.
Puerto Rico's governor has already declared a state of emergency on the island in advance of Maria's arrival. The NHC warns that rainfall poses the serious risk of flash flooding and mudslides across the territory's mountainous terrain.
And let us not forget Hurricane Jose, which is churning up dangerous surf and rip currents along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. mainland. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for a handful of islands off of New England, including Nantucket. Significant winds and rains are also expected for large portions of New England.
