Maria forecast to intensify to Category 4 'dangerous major hurricane'
Source: ABC News
Maria forecast to intensify to Category 4 'dangerous major hurricane'
By KARMA ALLEN • Sep 18, 2017, 6:27 AM ET
Maria, now a Category 1 hurricane, is expected to become a "dangerous major hurricane" over the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico by the middle of the week as a separate hurricane heads for the Northeast Coast, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Monday.
Maria was churning in the Atlantic Ocean, located about 90 miles northeast of Barbados as of early Monday morning with maximum sustained winds of 90 miles per hour, according to the NHC, which expects it to become a major hurricane when it reaches the Leeward Islands over the next few days.
The storm is forecast to rapidly intensify to a Category 4 hurricane as it approaches Puerto Rico late Wednesday morning.
Hurricane conditions could begin to affect parts of the Leeward Islands by Monday night, with storm surge raising water levels by 4 to 6 feet near the storm's eye. The storm is forecast to bring between 6 an 12 inches of rain across the islands, with more expected in some isolated spots.
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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/maria-forecast-intensify-category-dangerous-major-hurricane/story?id=49923831
