In the past 24 hours, Maria became a hurricane, and strengthened to Category 4. (See Saffir-Simpson scale.) It’s currently next to Dominica, and tracking north west. Maria is predicted to follow a similar path as Hurricane Irma – passing over Puerto Rico – and turning north, staying in the Atlantic.
Also in the Atlantic, Hurricane Jose continues to weaken as it tracks north; still affecting tides along the east coast of the U.S. and Bermuda.
Here are the Forecast/Advisories from the National Weather Service:
HURRICANE MARIA FORECAST/ADVISORY NUMBER 10
2100 UTC MON SEP 18 2017
HURRICANE CENTER LOCATED NEAR 15.1N 60.7W AT 18/2100Z
MAX SUSTAINED WINDS 115 KT WITH GUSTS TO 140 KT.
[UPDATE 09-20-2017] Hurricane Jose was downgraded to a Tropical Storm, and Hurricane Maria strengthened to Category 5 before it slammed into Puerto Rico.
HURRICANE MARIA FORECAST/ADVISORY NUMBER 17
0900 UTC WED SEP 20 2017
HURRICANE CENTER LOCATED NEAR 17.9N 65.6W AT 20/0900Z
MAX SUSTAINED WINDS 135 KT WITH GUSTS TO 165 KT.
[UPDATE 09-22-2017] Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico yesterday. It weakened to Category 2 as it past over the island, but then strengthened again to Category 3 last night. It’s currently about 30 miles east of Turks and Caicos Islands, and is expected to move north along the east coast of the U.S.
HURRICANE MARIA FORECAST/ADVISORY NUMBER 25
0900 UTC FRI SEP 22 2017
HURRICANE CENTER LOCATED NEAR 21.6N 70.6W AT 22/0900Z
MAX SUSTAINED WINDS 110 KT WITH GUSTS TO 135 KT.
[UPDATE 09-28-2017] Almost one week after my last report on Hurricane Maria, the storm weakened to Tropical Storm strength, then restrengthened to a Hurricane, and now is weakened to Tropical Storm once again. Meanwhile, Hurricane Lee (it was a storm before Maria), has strengthened to a Category 2 storm. Lee is expected to track northeast and not affect the U.S..
MARIA:
TROPICAL STORM MARIA FORECAST/ADVISORY NUMBER 49
TROPICAL STORM CENTER LOCATED NEAR 36.8N 71.0W AT 28/0900Z
MAX SUSTAINED WINDS 60 KT WITH GUSTS TO 75 KT.
LEE:
HURRICANE LEE FORECAST/ADVISORY NUMBER 41
HURRICANE CENTER LOCATED NEAR 32.5N 57.2W AT 28/0900Z
MAX SUSTAINED WINDS 95 KT WITH GUSTS TO 115 KT.