• Maria becomes a hurricane,
MIAMI — Tropical Storm Maria became a Category 1 hurricane Sunday afternoon, expected to hit the Leeward Islands on Monday and become a major hurricane by the time it nears Puerto Rico.
A “burst of convection” occurred in the storm’s center Sunday afternoon, with an open eyewall forming in the storm’s core, National Hurricane Center forecasters said. Because the storm is compact, it could quickly intensify as it moves over warm ocean waters and faces weak wind shear, they said.
Over the next three days, National Hurricane Center forecasters say, Maria will likely intensify to a major Category 3 storm as it nears the Lesser Antilles and the Virgin Islands. It could weaken slightly, but then regain strength as it approaches Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
Maria should become a major storm over the next two days, which could cause wind speeds to vary slightly if it undergoes eyewall replacements, which big storms are prone to do.
Hurricane advisories continued to extend across Caribbean islands battered by Irma as the storm approaches.
“I don’t think that anybody is emotionally prepared for it,” said Cruselda Roberts, a real estate agent in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which were hammered by Irma. “But we’ll do our best.”
Forecast models generally agree on a track that takes Maria near Guadalupe and the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles Monday and near Puerto Rico on Tuesday as a major hurricane.
It’s too soon to tell how Maria might affect Florida or other parts of the Southeast. Early models show the storm moving toward Florida and up the East Coast, but forecasts so far in advance can be hundreds of miles off.
As it nears the coast, Hurricane Jose, now about 355 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras and headed toward New England, could be a factor in where Maria goes. If Jose weakens the ridge steering the storm, it could allow Maria to take a track more to the northwest or north-northwest. If not, the storm will likely keep heading to the west-northwest.
Sunday morning, Jose strengthened slightly, but forecasters say it will likely weaken in the coming days as it faces stronger wind shear, and then moves over colder water. They expect it to weaken again to a tropical storm in three to four days.