Hurricane Maria may be the most destructive storm in Puerto Rico's history
UPDATED 4:25 p.m. PT with more information about Maria's intensifying strength.
The theme of the 2017 hurricane season: Dire, destructive, and deadly storms bordering on hyperbolically intense, continues with Hurricane Maria. This time, the storm is taking aim at the U.S. Virgin Islands, particularly St. Croix, as well as Puerto Rico.
It's difficult to overstate the danger that Hurricane Maria poses to Puerto Rico, an American territory that is home to 3.4 million. This storm is unlike any other that the island has experienced since the 1920s or 1930s. It will be Puerto Rico's most dangerous storm on record. Maria is now stronger than Hurricane Irma, by minimum central air pressure, and is still intensifying. In general, the lower the pressure, the stronger the storm.
The storm is likely to act like a buzzsaw wherever its tightly wrapped eyewall touches. This part of the storm, which encircles the calm eye, contains the strongest winds, which may gust above 200 miles per hour. This wind will mow down trees and strip them of vegetation, drive branches and street signs into power lines, and tear apart homes and businesses roof first.
Along the coast of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the ocean is forecast to inundate normally dry land up to 6 to 9 feet above the ground, particularly if the dreaded storm surge rides atop high tides, with battering, towering waves on top of that.
Direct hits of powerful hurricanes are a rarity in Puerto Rico, but the island's luck is about to run out, in an unfortunate, and potentially deadly, way.
Assuming the storm maintains its Category 5 intensity, it would mean that Maria would be the most powerful storm to strike Puerto Rico since 1928, when the island contained just a fraction of today's population.
Hurricane Maria may come onshore as a strong Category 4 storm instead. But even then, the precedent event is beyond the memory of most of the island's current residents, since the last Category 4 storm to hit the island was the San Ciprian Hurricane of 1932.
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According to the National Hurricane Center, there are no obstacles to disrupt Hurricane Maria in a significant way before it gets to the Virgin Islands on Tuesday night, and moves near or over Puerto Rico on Wednesday.
The National Weather Service forecast office in San Juan is issuing out dire warnings, telling residents that this storm won't be like others they may have experienced, including Hurricane Irma, which moved passed the island but stayed far enough offshore to spare it of its strongest winds.
In a statement, the NWS said that Hurricane Maria's winds "Will bring catastrophic damage. Severe injury is possible in less than a strong structure."
"Locations may be uninhabitable for weeks or months," the NWS said.
In addition to the winds and storm surge, the storm will also dump up to 2 feet of rain on the island, which could cause flash flooding, river flooding, and mudslides.
Assuming the storm track is as forecast, and that the hurricane maintains its extraordinary intensity, the U.S. will likely have to mount a major search, rescue, and aid operation to help Puerto Rico recover. In addition, considering that Puerto Rico and St. Croix have been the major staging areas to send aid to parts of the U.S. Virgin Islands hit hard by Hurricane Irma, those aid flows will have to be reestablished as well.
In fact, there is a chance that St. Thomas and St. John, two islands that were heavily damaged during Hurricane Irma, could see torrential rain and hurricane force winds if this storm moves far enough to the north.
Pat McCafferty, who experienced Hurricane Irma on St. John and is staying for Maria, said the fact that another Category 5 storm is on the way there, "Almost feels like it's not real life."
"I am worried for my friends in the hills that could face massive mudslides, our friends in St. Croix who dried out their grocery stores and clothes to support us and friends from Puerto Rico who did the same," McCafferty said in a text message.
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"Once those two are hit, all American territories will have no aid until the USA comes."
"All of us small islands look after each other, and if all of us are destroyed... then what?"
Hurricane Maria has already set historical milestones. It needed just 15 hours to go from a Category 1 to a Category 5 intensity, making it one of the fastest intensifying hurricanes in the satellite record.
The storm has been able to grow so intense by drawing energy from warm ocean waters that were not disturbed by Hurricane Irma, which moved to the north of the area where Hurricane Maria is. It also has a favorable atmospheric environment for intensifying, with little wind shear and plenty of moisture.
It is also the first Category 5 storm ever to directly hit the island of Dominica, where the prime minister reported "mind-boggling" damage.
Andrew Freedman is Mashable's Senior Editor for Science and Special Projects. Prior to working at Mashable, Freedman was a Senior Science writer for Climate Central. He has also worked as a reporter for Congressional Quarterly and Greenwire/E&E Daily. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Post, online at The Weather Channel, and washingtonpost.com, where he wrote a weekly climate science column for the "Capital Weather Gang" blog. He has provided commentary on climate science and policy for Sky News, CBC Radio, NPR, Al Jazeera, Sirius XM Radio, PBS NewsHour, and other national and international outlets. He holds a Masters in Climate and Society from Columbia University, and a Masters in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University.
