11 am Wednesday: Hurricane Maria Advisory

CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:

The government of France has discontinued the Tropical Storm Warning for St. Martin and St. Barthelemy.

The government of St. Maarten has discontinued the Tropical Storm Warning and Hurricane Watch for St. Maarten.

The government of the Netherlands has discontinued the Tropical Storm Warning for Saba.

At 1100 AM AST (1500 UTC), the center of Hurricane Maria was located inland over Puerto Rico near latitude 18.4 North, longitude 66.5 West.  Maria is moving toward the northwest near 12 mph (19 km/h), and this general motion with a gradual decrease in forward speed is expected through early Friday.  On the forecast track, the center of Maria will move offshore of the northern coast of Puerto Rico during the next couple of hours.  The center will then pass offshore of the northeastern coast of the Dominican Republic tonight and Thursday and then move near the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeastern Bahamas Thursday night and Friday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 140 mph (220 km/h) with higher gusts.  Maria is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.  Little change in strength is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Maria is expected to remain a dangerous major hurricane through Friday.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 150 miles (240 km).

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for... * U.S. Virgin Islands * British Virgin Islands * Puerto Rico, Culebra, and Vieques * Dominican Republic from Cabo Engano to Puerto Plata * Turks and Caicos Islands and the Southeastern Bahamas

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for... * Dominican Republic west of Puerto Plata to the northern border of the Dominican Republic and Haiti * Dominican Republic west of Cabo Engano to Punta Palenque

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for... * Dominican Republic from Isla Saona to Cabo Engano


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