Category 4 Hurricane Maria is an extremely dangerous threat to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico; Jose to scrape Northeast coast.

The wicked 2017 hurricane season is set to deliver its next two punishing blows from Hurricanes Maria and Jose. In both the Caribbean and along the Atlantic coast of the Northeast United States, conditions are set to deteriorate rapidly through Wednesday as these storms arrive.

Of the two storms, however, Maria is the much more serious hurricane – becoming a Category 5, the most extreme level Monday evening, before making landfall in Dominica. The extremely dangerous storm, now a Category 4 hurricane with 155-mph winds, has the potential to cause widespread destruction along its path from the central Lesser Antilles through Puerto Rico.

“Maria is forecast to remain an extremely dangerous Category 4 or 5 hurricane while it approaches the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico,” the National Hurricane Center said Tuesday.

Read Jason Samenow’s story in The Washington Post - “Category 4 Hurricane Maria is an extremely dangerous threat to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico; Jose to scrape Northeast coast.”