Hurricane Maria is still on the warpath.
The storm packs 125-mile-per-hour winds as it nears the Turks and Caicos. Its trailing rain bands also continue to dump water onto Puerto Rico, and there are reports that some areas could see up to 40 inches of rain before it’s all done.
The National Hurricane Center expects the storm to weaken gradually as it turns more toward the north and runs parallel to the U.S. East Coast, well out to sea. However, the most recent model runs take it a little closer to the coast than previous ones have.
USA Today reports that the storm has killed at least 19 people so far, 15 of them in Dominica.
Fasho Thoughts:
- The odds are low that Maria turns west toward the East Coast, but we’re not totally out of the woods. Keep watching the forecasts.
- Meanwhile, Jose is now a post-tropical storm, but it is bringing tropical storm conditions to the Cape Cod area.
- The NHC doesn’t expect any other storms to form in the next five days.
- The NHC will probably retire at least four storm names after this season: Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria. And there’s still a month to go before things really calm down.
Source: Radio One / Don Juan Fasho
