Hurricane Maria Now Category 3, To Make Landfall at Caribbean Islands Wrecked By Irma

The National Hurricane Center in Miami just announced that Hurricane Maria has become Category 3. It is currently headed to the Caribbean.

On Monday, Maria was “rapidly” becoming a major hurricane. Its eye is even expected to move towards the Leeward Islands later on. As for its center, it’s around 60 miles east of Martinique and is building with a maximum sustained winds of 120 mph.

Hurricane Maria is moving on a path that will take it to the many islands already devastated by Hurricane Irma. It will also continue to move towards Puerto Rico, as well as Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Hurricane warnings have already been posted for Dominica, Nevis, Guadeloupe, St. Kittis, Martinique, and Montserrat. Tropical storm warnings, on the other hand, were announced for Barbuda, St. Eustatius, Antigua, Saba, and St. Lucia.

Hurricane Maria is expected to hit the Leeward Islands Monday night

Hurricane Maria quickly evolved into Category 3 from Category 1

Authorities also warned other nearby islands and that people living there should stay alert. As of this writing, hurricane watches have been deployed in the U.S, Puerto Rico, and the British Virgin Islands. The watches were also installed on island shared by Dutch St. Maarten and French St. Martin, St. Barts, and Anguilla.

In related news, Category 1 Hurricane Jose still continues to move towards the East Coast of the U.S. Its existence brings the threat of heavy winds and rains for the most of the middle of the week.

Forecasters suggest that Jose could still landfall this week. And if it does, the eastern end of Long Islands and/or southern New England are likely to be hit. It could either be on Wednesday or Thursday.

Hurricane Maria will hit islands already wrecked by Hurricane Irma

Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski of AccuWeather was quoted saying,

A hurricane does not need to make landfall to cause significant adverse effects in the Northeast, since the shape of the coast tends to enhance storm effects and trap ocean water.

Meanwhile, the Caribbean islands recently wrecked by Hurricane Irma are now bracing for Hurricane Maria. The latter is expected to hit Monday night.

Maria strengthened and became a hurricane on Sunday, quickly evolving from Category 1 to Category 3 in less than 24 hours. As of now, authorities can’t say if whether or not the hurricane will become a threat to the U.S.

H/T: Daily Mail