Via CBS News...
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Hurricane Maria became a Category 4 storm Monday as it barreled toward a potentially devastating collision with islands in the eastern Caribbean, the National Hurricane Center says.
The storm was on a path that would take it near many of the islands already wrecked by Hurricane Irma and then on toward Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Maria could hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday, said Ernesto Morales with the U.S. National Weather Service in San Juan.
"This storm promises to be catastrophic for our island," he said. "All of Puerto Rico will experience hurricane force winds."
Maria is an "extremely dangerous" storm with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph, the center said Monday. It was centered about 45 miles east-southeast of Dominica -- or 35 miles east of Martinique -- and heading west-northwest at 9 mph.
Hurricane warnings were issued for Puerto Rico, Culebra, Vieques, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat and Martinique. A tropical storm warning was issued for Antigua and Barbuda, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, St. Lucia and Anguilla.
Forecasters said hurricane conditions should begin to affect parts of the Leeward Islands by Monday afternoon or evening, with storm surge raising water levels by 4 to 6 feet near the storm's center. The storm was predicted to bring 6 to 12 inches of rain across the islands, with more in isolated areas.
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