A strengthening Hurricane Maria churned toward the Leeward Islands in the eastern Caribbean on Monday as Hurricane Jose was set to bring misery to the East Coast.
While Jose spun out into the Atlantic, forecasters say there’s still a possibility it could make landfall this week. If it does, it will likely hit the eastern end of Long Island or souteastern New England.
Even if it doesn’t, it will still bring winds and rain to the I-95 corridor this week, marking a wet start to fall.
‘A hurricane does not need to make landfall to cause significant adverse effects in the Northeast, since the shape of the coast tends to enhance storm effects and trap ocean water,’ AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
Meanwhile, the Caribbean islands leveled by Hurricane Irma are preparing for Maria, which is expected to his the Leeward Islands starting Monday night.
Hurricane Maria strengthened into a hurricane on Sunday. It’s expected to hit the Leeward islands Monday night
Hurricane Maria is seen above swirling east of the Leeward Islands on Monday
Hurricane Maria will take a similar path as Irma, except it will likely directly hit Puerto Rico instead of skimming the northern coast
The Atlantic is host to three storms currently – Jose (left), Maria (center) and Lee (right)
Maria strengthened into a hurricane on Sunday, and is currently a category 1 storm.
After passing near many of the islands devastated by Irma, Maria will likely continue on a path towards Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Hurricane warnings were posted for Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat and Martinique. A tropical storm warning was issued for Antigua and Barbuda, Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Lucia.
Other islands were warned to stay alert for changes in the storm. Hurricane watches were up in Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, the island shared by French St. Martin and Dutch St. Maarten, St. Barts and Anguilla.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Maria had maximum sustained winds of 90 mph early Monday. It was centered about 130 miles east-southeast of Dominica – or 100 miles east of Martinique – and heading west-northwest at 13 mph.
Islands that were decimated by Hurricane Irma are under Hurricane warnings yet again
Hurricane Maria is expected to bring heavy rains on the Caribbean islands still dealing with the aftermath of Irma
The hurricane center said hurricane conditions should begin to affect parts of the Leeward Islands by Monday night, with storm surge raising water levels by four to six feet near the storm’s center.
The storm was predicted to bring six to 12 inches of rain across the islands, with more in isolated areas.
Maria could make a direct hit on Puerto Rico, which was spared the full brunt of Irma although much of the island had its power knocked out.
Gov. Ricardo Rossello said officials had prepared about 450 shelters with a capacity for nearly 68,000 people – or even 125,000 in an emergency. He said schools were cancelled for Monday and government employees would work only a half day.
Officials in the Dominican Republic urged people to leave areas prone to flooding and said fishermen should remain in port.
A gendarme stands in front of smashed boats on Saturday at Marigot shipyard on the French Caribbean island of Saint Martin after the island was hit by Hurricane Irma. St. Martin is currently under hurricane watch again as Maria nears
on Sunday, houses in a variety of conditions – some with and without roofs – dot the hillsides more than a week after Hurricane Irma made landfall on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The U.S. Virgin Islands are under hurricane watch for Hurricane Maria
Homes that were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Irma are piled up in the Big Pine Cove neighborhood in Big Pine Key, Florida on Friday. It’s unclear if Maria will hit the U.S. as she makes her way northward
Farther north, long-lived Hurricane Jose continued to head northward off the U.S. East Coast, causing dangerous surf and rip currents. It wasn’t expected to make landfall but tropical storm watches were posted along the coast from Delaware to Massachusetts’ Cape Cod.
Jose was centered about 280 miles east-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and was moving north at 9 mph. It had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph.
In the Pacific, Tropical Storm Norma’s threat to Mexico’s Los Cabos resort area at the southern end of the Baja California peninsula seemed to ease as forecasters said the storm’s center was likely to remain offshore.
Norma had winds of about 50 mph and it was centered about 160 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas. That area was hit two weeks ago by Tropical Storm Lidia, which flooded streets and homes and killed at least four people.
The Baja California Sur state government prepared storm shelters and canceled classes for Monday.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Lee weakened into a tropical depression far out in the Atlantic while Hurricane Otis weakened some far out in the Pacific. Neither threatened land.
the above graphs show the paths Atlantic hurricanes have taken this year
The above satellite photo from Saturday shows Hurricane Norma (left) in the Pacific Ocean, Jose (center), east of Florida; Maria (second right) north of Brazil; and Tropical Storm Lee, far right