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21 Sep 2017 / Caribbean Sea

Eye of Hurricane Maria over eastern Puerto Rico

At 800am AST (1200 UTC), the center of Hurricane Maria was located near latitude 18.2 North, longitude 66.1 West.

Maria is moving toward the northwest near 10 mph (17 km/h). A west-northwest to northwest motion is expected to continue through today, followed by a northwestward motion on Thursday. On the forecast track, the eye of Maria will continue to move across Puerto Rico this morning and emerge off the northern coast by this afternoon. The center will then pass just north of the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic tonight and Thursday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 150 mph (240 km/h) with higher gusts. Maria is an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, and it is forecast to retain this intensity while it moves across Puerto Rico.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 150 miles (240 km)...

...A National Ocean Service tide gauge at Yabucoa Harbor recently reported a water level of 5.3 ft above Mean Higher High Water...

WIND: Tropical storm and hurricane conditions are occurring over the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Hurricane conditions are expected within the Hurricane Warning area in the Dominican Republic tonight, with tropical storm conditions expected by later today.

Tropical storm conditions are expected in the Tropical Storm Warning areas in the Dominican Republic later today. Hurricane conditions are expected within the Hurricane Warning area by late Thursday in the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas, with tropical storm conditions in this area by early Thursday...

STORM SURGE: The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline...

...The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the north and east of the landfall location, where the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves. Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances...

...A dangerous storm surge accompanied by large and destructive waves will raise water levels by as much as 4-6 feet above normal tide levels in the hurricane warning area in the Dominican Republic, and 1-3 ft elsewhere along the northern coasts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

A dangerous storm surge accompanied by large and destructive waves will raise water levels by as much as 10-15 feet above normal tide levels in the hurricane warning area near and to the north of the center of Maria for both the Southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands...

SURF: Swells generated by Maria are affecting the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. These swells will begin affecting the northern coast of Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Southeastern Bahamas during the next day or two. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions...

(For information about operations in the Americas, contact the GAC Houston Hub Agency Center at [email protected])

Source: National Hurricane Center, Miami Fl, Tropical Storm Maria Intermediate Advisory No.17A issued at 800am EDT on September 20, 2017

If quoting any content from Hot Port News, please cite GAC Hot Port News as the source.

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