Hurricane Maria to Strike St. Lucia, Six Other Caribbean Islands

According to the National Hurricane Center, St. Lucia is the latest island to issue a hurricane warning as Hurricane Maria threatens most of the Caribbean less than two weeks after the region was brutalized by Hurricane Irma.

Hurricane warnings are now in effect for St. Lucia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat and Dominica.

According to AccuWeather, conditions are conducive for the storm to ramp up into a major category 3, or stronger, hurricane as it crosses the islands and waters of the northeastern Caribbean Sea into Wednesday. On the forecast track, the center of Maria will move across the Leeward Islands late today and tonight, and then over the extreme northeastern Caribbean Sea Tuesday and Tuesday night, according to The National Hurricane Center.

Power outages and structural damage are likely. Small craft should remain in port and cruise and cargo ships should avoid the area, according to the report.

St. Maarten became the latest island to issue a tropical storm warning as Maria has also prompted tropical storm warnings in Antigua and Barbuda, Saba and St. Eustatius.

According to the National Hurricane Center, a hurricane watch is in effect for Puerto Rico (Vieques and Culebra); the U.S. Virgin Islands, the The British Virgin Islands, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten/St. Martin, St. Barts and Anguilla.

A tropical storm watch is in effect for St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados

Keep visiting www.travelagentcentral.com for more Hurricane Maria updates and be sure to follow Travel Agent’s Joe Pike on Twitter @TravelPike and Instagram @pike5260.

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