Major Hurricane Maria

Potential Tropical Cyclone 15 formed on the 11 am advisory of September 16, 2017, with sustained winds of 35 mph and a pressure of 1009 mb.

PTC 15 was upgraded to TD 15 at 2 pm, then Tropical storm Maria on the 5 pm advisory, aimed at Puerto Rico to become a major hurricane.

At 3 pm on September 17, 2017, Maria was upgraded to a cat 1 hurricane with winds of 75 mph and a pressure of 986 mb.

After a period of Rapid Intensification on the afternoon of September 18, 2017, Maria became a cat 3 with winds of 125 mph and a pressure of 956 mb.

At 7:45 PM, Maria was upgraded to a category 5 hurricane, being the second one of the year with 160 mph winds and a 925 mb pressure.

After hitting Puerto Rico and causing the entire island to lose power, Maria went Northward and impacted the Turks and Caicos. Maria moved north and passed well offshore of North Carolina before moving rapidly out to sea to the east.

Maria's final advisory was issued at 5 PM on September 30, 2017.

Hurricane warnings were issued for the Lesser Antilles, the US and British Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

At 9:35 PM on September 18, 2017, Maria made landfall as a 160 mph category 5 hurricane on Dominica.

Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico at 6:15 AM on September 20, 2016 as a 155 mph cat 4.

• ECMWF - Major hurricane hitting or just passing through Greater Antilles, then curving OTS mostly or going into the NE or Southeast.

• CMC - Anywhere from OTS as a cat 1 to into the Southeast as a Cat 1.

• GFS - Cat 2 in the Caribbean going just south of Puerto Rico and then into Hispaniola. Landfalls for the US vary from North Florida to the Mid- Atlantic.

• NAVGEM - Tropical storm into the Greater Antilles.

• UKMET - Cat 1 or 2 hurricane along same path as ECMWF and GFS.

• HWRF - Strong Category 4 in the Caribbean striking Puerto Rico form the south, but a bit slower than the HMON.

• HMON - Strong Category 4 in the Caribbean striking Puerto Rico form the south of Hispaniola.

End Result:

• Long - medium range :

• Short Range :

• Strength :

← Tropical Storm Lee