Hurricane Maria Tracks Towards Puerto Rico
Forecasted to become a Major Hurricane as it threatens the US territory
The National Hurricane Center upgraded Hurricane Maria to a Category 3 this morning, with winds of up to 120 mph. As it crosses the Leeward Islands into the Caribbean, it is predicted to strengthen into another monster. By Wednesday, it should cross paths with Puerto Rico. After, forecasts are in agreement that it should veer right, but another contiguous US landfall is not out of question yet. And now is time to pay attention, as Maria is expected to grow more before entering the Caribbean Sea (NPR).
The amount of hurricanes recently has led to difficult tracking that make predicting Maria’s impacts to the US very difficult. As Hurricane Jose tracks up towards New England, it is expected to linger in the area for a long time. If this is so, Maria should stay clear of land; hurricane steering is largely affected by the building of High Pressure Systems that repel the storms away, and Jose is preventing a High Pressure System from forming in a location that could lure Maria towards our coast right now. If Jose moves away quicker than anticipated, changes may have to be done. Tracking storms of this magnitude is difficult and takes into account many variables.
But, impact in the states or not, islands already pummeled by the unrelenting force of Irma will have to relive the nightmare as Maria affects the same areas as the last storm. Hurricane force winds will likely affect all of Puerto Rico (USA Today), and the results may prove catastrophic. As the Hurricane Season marches on, it’s proving to be one to remember.