Hurricane Maria to bring dangerous winds and swells to US coast
Forecaster say it "increasingly likely" Maria could make landfall along parts of the US coast, with warnings of a threat to life.
Sunday 24 September 2017 02:33, UK
Hurricane Maria's path along the coast of the US eastern seaboard is forecast to cause dangerous surf and rip currents in coming days.
The storm, which devastated Puerto Rico, and tore across other Caribbean island already ripped apart by Hurricane Irma, is travelling northwards.
And forecasters are warning that it is "increasingly likely" it could make landfall along some parts of the US coast.
Still a category three hurricane, packing sustained wind speeds of 115mph and even stronger gusts, Maria will travel parallel to the coast of Florida, before skirting the Carolinas, Virginia and New England.
It is currently a few hundreds miles east of the island of Nassau and the US National Hurricane Centre is warning people in the Bahamas and along the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic coasts to keep monitoring the situation.
The NHC said: "These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions."
The closest Maria is expected to get to the US coast will be along North Carolina on Monday night.
Meanwhile, another named storm has formed in the Atlantic. Tropical storm Lee has been drifting northwards but is expected to turn eastwards and be near hurricane-strength by next weekend.
Hurricane Maria has claimed more than 30 lives across the region and is the second devastating storm to hit the Caribbean in the past two weeks.
The hurricane has brought additional damage on a British overseas territory.
The weather front ripped across the Caribbean over the past few days, claiming the lives of at least 19 people so far, with many others missing.
A British man is also among the dead, with his body yet to be recovered after a boat capsized off Puerto Rico near Vieques, as Maria moved in.
Maria battered the overseas territory of Turks and Caicos with winds of up to 125mph on Friday, as the storm continued on its path to roll off the east coast of the US.
Other overseas territories including the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla heavily hit by Irma, have escaped the worst of Maria, with Montserrat also faring better than expected.
Chris Austin, head of the UK Task Force, said the region has been "relatively lucky so far" with the impact of Maria.