Tropical Storm Maria has formed in the Atlantic on Saturday and it is headed toward some of the same areas impacted my Irma over a week ago. Maria is showing decent organization on satellite as of Sunday Morning and could become a hurricane in short order, as soon as later Sunday or Monday. We are expecting it to intensify rapidly and potentially become a major hurricane before it threatens Puerto Rico by Wednesday into Thursday.
The forecast later in the period is a bit uncertain and will largely hinge upon one key factor.......Hurricane Jose that is now in the western Atlantic just off the US East Coast. The forecast is for Jose is to continue a northward drift, gradually exiting the picture and weakening by the middle to end of next week in the northern Atlantic. By doing this, it will close any door for Maria to escape out into the open Atlantic with any weakness it may create in the area of high pressure that is steering Maria westward. If Jose indeed does move out of the picture, the high pressure cell over the Atlantic will be allowed to rebuild in the wake of Jose and allow Maria to maintain a more westward/west-northwest track, which could potentially threaten the Bahamas and possibly the Southeast U.S. While it is still too early to speculate on exactly where Maria may go, there is a distinct possibility that the U.S. could be dealing with another hurricane landfall in about 10 days. We will keep you updated on its progress and give you the latest as it develops.
Remember....DON'T BE SCARED....ALWAYS BE PREPARED.
Fox 4 Chief Meteorologist Derek Beasley
