NOAA/NHC Hurricane Maria wind arrival forecast. The British Virgin Islands could begin feeling the effects of the storm by Tuesday morning.
The British Virgin Islands are under a hurricane warning thanks to Hurricane Maria, which gained strength overnight. By 8 p.m. Monday, Hurricane Maria became a Category 5 hurricane. The British Overseas Territory is could begin to feel the effects of the hurricane by Tuesday. Here’s the latest track and forecast for the islands.
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NHC/NOAAHurricane Maria forecast at 8 p.m. on September 18.
The 8 p.m. ET public advisory from the National Hurricane Center in Miami reports that the hurricane has strengthened to maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (260 kmh) and it is 40 miles (70 km) east of Martinique. The French island is about 570 km away from the British Virgin Islands and the storm is moving west-northwest at 9 mph (15 kmh).
The Euro model Ensembles are very encouraging this morning on Maria. We’ll keep watching.
The islands are now under a hurricane warning, as are the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. According to the NHC, this “means that hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.”
“Maria is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 6 to 12 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 20 inches across the central and southern Leeward Islands, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, through Wednesday night,” the NHC stated. The rainfall prediction for the British and U.S. Virgin ISlands increased to 10 to 15 inches in the 8 p.m. advisory.
On Monday morning, Maria was a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. After reaching maximum sustained winds of 111-129 mph (178–208 km/h), it was classified as a Category 3 hurricane. By 8 p.m., it became a Category 5, meaning that its maximum sustained winds are 157 mph (252 kmh) or higher.
The British Virgin Islands are still rebuilding from Hurricane Irma, which stuck the islands earlier this month. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson flew to the islands to tour the destruction and told the media that he has “never seen anything like it.” He described the damage as “absolutely hellish.”
The U.K. government has promised to spend £57 million to help the BVI, Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The government is also considering aide for Antigua and Barbua, an independent country, The Guardian notes.
According to the CIA World Factbook, the BVI is made up of 16 inhabited and over 20 uninhabited islands. It has an estimated population of 35,015 people. Residents are British citizens, although the BVI is not considered part of the European Union.
