After a brief drop in intensity, Hurricane Maria is back to a Category 5 storm and is roaring towards Puerto Rico after devastating the island of Dominica. Residents of Hurricane Irma-damaged Florida, Georgia and South Carolina are continuing to keep a close eye on it.
Hurricane Maria’s predicted path has not shifted notably since 11 a.m. yesterday. But it’s path is still expected to make a northern turn by Friday, which could be good news for the Southeast.
Craig Setzer, a Miami meteorologist said on Twitter early Tuesday that the risk of Hurricane Maria hitting the southern part of Florida is currently “very low” and “not increasing.”
#Maria impacts NE Carib next then threat to DR, Haiti, Turks & Caicos, SE Bahamas. Very low risk to SoFla & not increasing. Watching closely pic.twitter.com/Z2HWS4vbgy
— Craig Setzer, CCM (@CraigSetzer) September 19, 2017
Hurricane Maria’s spaghetti plots—which meteorologists use to visualize potential storm paths—support Setzer’s assertion, with none currently showing Florida in the Hurricane Maria’s path. The vast majority predict that Maria will spin out to sea—though not before wreaking havoc on the Caribbean.
Hurricane Maria Spaghetti Models Move Farther From Florida – https://t.co/ZxxoOMNwOH#sebastianfl#verobeachfl#hurricanemaria#maria
— Sebastian Daily (@sebastian_daily) September 19, 2017
While spaghetti plots are a succinct way to show the different paths a storm could take, they change frequently. So Hurricane Maria is still worth watching until that northern turn begins.
While Floridians may be relieved, Puerto Rico is in Hurricane Maria’s cross-hairs. The governor of that territory has warned of a “catastrophe” and said the island will need “help of all kinds” after the storm passes.
Roosevelt Skerrit, the Prime Minister of Dominica, says the damage Maria caused to his island was “mind boggling” and that the people of that territory “have lost all what money can buy and replace.”
Hurricane Maria is the fourth major storm of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Jose.