Hurricane Maria St. John: Projected Path and Forecast

They tiny, idyllic island of St. John was the hardest hit when Hurricane Irma swept across the U.S. Virgin Islands on September 6.

And now residents, trapped tourists and rescue and recovery workers are bracing for Hurricane Maria, another Category 5 hurricane heading right towards the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The storm is expected to make impact on Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning.

Hurricane Maria has maximum sustained winds of 175 miles an hour. The storm is currently about 60 miles southeast of St. Croix, one of the three main islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands that wasn’t nearly as impacted by Hurricane Irma as St. John and St. Thomas.

The latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center warns residents to prepare for the storm now:

…EYE OF CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE MARIA MOVING CLOSER TO ST CROIX IN THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS…

…PREPARATIONS AGAINST LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGE AND RAINFALL FLOODING AND DESTRUCTIVE WINDS SHOULD BE RUSHED TO COMPLETION…

Storm surges could be as high as 6 to 9 feet, forecasters said. Up to 20 inches of rain could fall in certain areas.

Two shelters have been opened on St. John: One at Guy Benjamin School and another at Bethany Moravian Church.

General Joseph Lengyel, head of the National Guard Bureau, flew over St. John last week to assess the damage there.