Miami, Fla. (970 WFLA)- At 500 AM, the center of Hurricane Maria was located near latitude 17.9 North, longitude 65.6 West.Maria is about 15 miles south-southwest Vieques, and about 50 miles southeast San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Maria is moving toward the northwest near 10 mph. A west-northwest to northwest motion is expected to continue through today, followed by a northwestward motion on Thursday. On the forecast track the eye of Maria will make landfall in Puerto Rico in a couple of hours,cross Puerto Rico today, and pass just north of the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic tonight and Thursday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 155 mph with highergusts. Maria is an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, and it should maintain this intensity until landfall.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. Fajardo recently reported sustained winds of 79 mph with a gust to 100 mph.
The minimum central pressure recently reported by an Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft is 917 mb.
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...* Saba
* St. Maarten
* 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...* St. Maarten
* St. Martin and St. Barthelemy
* Dominican Republic from Isla Saona to Cabo Engano
Graphic Credit: NHC Miami