At 5:00 AM EDT/TEUSDAY/19/SEPTEMBER/2017, the center of Hurricane Maria was located near latitude 16.0° North, longitude 62.3° West, or about 715 miles southeast of Grand Turk and is moving toward the west-northwest near 9 mph. This general motion is expected to continue through Wednesday.
On the forecast track, the eye of Maria will move over the northeastern Caribbean Sea today, and approach the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico tonight and Wednesday, and the Turks & Caicos Islands late Thursday night or Friday morning.
Maximum sustained winds are near 155 mph with higher gusts. Maria is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next day or two, but Maria is forecast to remain an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane when it approaches or is in the vicinity of the Turks & Caicos Islands late Thursday night and Friday.
An Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft is currently investigating Maria.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 30 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 125 miles from the center.
The estimated minimum central pressure is 934 mbar.
Residents and interests in the Turks & Caicos Islands are reminded to pay special attention to all information on Hurricane Maria as a Hurricane Alert for the Turks & Caicos Islands will likely be posted sometime today.
