Hurricane Maria is already shaping up to be another disaster in a region, the Caribbean, that’s had far too much already. While Puerto Rico braces, the rest of the region is wondering if Maria will follow the path of Irma. So far, not yet, but it’s still very early for a storm that just strengthened to Category 3 level.
The National Oceanic and Aeronautic Administration (NOAA) projects Maria directly hitting Puerto Rico with major hurricane winds and rain, before passing off the coast of the Dominican Republic and going through the Bahamas. Current spaghetti models, where multiple forecasts are layered on top of each other to get a rough idea of the storm’s path, indicate that meterologists largely believe Maria won’t make landfall on the US mainland, much like Hurricane Jose has stayed relatively far away from the Eastern Seaboard.
That might change, however. Much like Irma was projected to hit Miami and instead veered to hit Tampa and even Atlanta, it all depends on where, exactly, Maria turns north. If it does make landfall, it will likely hit further up the coast, with North Carolina being the likely recipient of a hit. So, those along the southern coast should keep a watchful eye on Maria, especially as the storm isn’t projected to lose much strength over the next few days.
(via NOAA)