Miami, Fla. (970 WFLA)-At 8:00 AM, the center of Hurricane Maria was located near latitude 18.2 North, longitude 66.1 West. Maria is about 15 miles south-southwest of 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 continue to move across Puerto Rico this morning and merge off the northern coast by this afternoon. The center will then pass just north of the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic tonight and Thursday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 150 mph with higher gusts. Maria is an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, and it is forecast to retain this intensity while it moves across Puerto Rico. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 150 miles. A sustained wind of 81 mph with a gust to 109 mph was recently reported at Yabucoa Harbor,Puerto Rico. A sustained wind of 63 mph with a gust to 118 mph was recently reported at Camp Santiago, Puerto Rico. A National Ocean Service tide gauge at Yabucoa Harbor recently reported a water level of 5.3 ft above Mean Higher High Water.
The estimated minimum central pressure is 921 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
* St. Martin and St. Barthelemy
* 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
* Dominican Republic from Isla Saona to Cabo Engano
Graphic Credit: NHC Miami