PR in middle left directly in path of Hurricane Maria (this image auto-updates)
"the perfect storm"Puerto Rico caught a lucky break - in the morning hours before landfall, Cat 5 Maria with sustained winds of 175, underwent an eye wall replacement cycle in which the diameter of the inner eye expanded from 10 miles to 30 miles across. During this process a hurricane will lose some intensity and so Maria's winds went from 175 to 155 sustained.
0500 hrs, Sept 20,2017
"Radar observations from the San Juan WSR-88D and wind data from an
Air Force Reserve Unit Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that
Maria has just about completed an eyewall replacement. Based on
the now-dominant outer eyewall, the eye diameter has increased from
10 n mi to 30 n mi. This has likely contributed to some weakening,
and based on the latest observations from the Hurricane Hunters, the
intensity is set at 135 kt which is at the top of category 4 range." .... NHC
Maria is one of the fastest intensifying hurricanes on record. It strengthened from a Category 1 to a Category 5 in about 15 hours1850 hrs CSTSept 18, 2017 ....
*****MARIA UPGRADED TO CAT 5*****925mb mercury........................ winds 160 mph..............................1850 CST Sept18
920........................................... winds 165......................................1500 CST Sept19
913............................................winds 167 (gusts to 201)...............1700 CST Sept19
909............................................winds 175 (gusts to 205)...............1900 CST Sept19
Hurricane Maria made direct impact at
6:15 a.m. at Yabucoa, Puerto Rico on Sept 20,2017, with sustained winds of 155 mph and barometric pressure of 917 mb. It is the first Category 4 or stronger storm to strike Puerto Rico since 1932. It made landfall with very close to the same intensity as Hurricane Andrew when it struck southern Florida in 1992.
GOES-16 http://rammb-slider.cira.colostate.edu/?sat=goes-16&sec=full_disk&x=15680&y=8175&z=3&im=12&ts=1&st=0&et=0&speed=130&motion=loop&map=1&lat=0&p%5B0%5D=16&opacity%5B0%5D=1&hidden%5B0%5D=0&pause=0&slider=-1&hide_controls=0&mouse_draw=0&s=rammb-slider
Hurricane Irma near Leeward islandsNOAA Hurricane Hunters NOAA's Gulfstream IV-SP jet N49RF (front) and Lockheed WP-3D Orion turboprop N43RF