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At 11 am today, the center of Tropical Storm Maria was located near 13 degrees North, 51.2 degrees West or about 971 miles east southeast of St. Croix. Tropical Storm Maria is moving to the west at 22 miles per hour and this general motion should continue today followed by a turn to the west-northwest with a decrease in forward speed on Friday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 45 miles per hour with higher gusts and Maria could be de-generating into a tropical wave later today. However, there is the strong likelihood of regeneration during the next day or two. No matter the status of the storm system, tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 115 miles to the north and east of the center.
At 11:30 a.m. today, Gov. John P. de Jongh Jr. and VITEMA Director Elton Lewis convened a conference call with the members of the Virgin Islands Emergency Management Council and the National Weather Service for the latest track and forecast of Tropical Storm Maria and to begin coordinating the government response effort.
According to the National Weather Service senior meteorologist Rafael Mojica, the forecast track has been adjusted by the National Hurricane Center with a shift more to the south placing the entire territory in the path of tropical storm force winds. On the forecast track, the center of Maria is now projected to pass near or over the island of St. Croix with maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour and gusts of up to 60 miles per hour, which means the entire will experience tropical force winds if the system remains organized as a tropical storm.
The system is likely to reach the Territory as moderate to strong tropical storm on Saturday night, according to Mojica, with marine conditions beginning to deteriorate on Friday. The National Weather Service is projecting that Maria will dump between 4 to 6 inches of rain on the islands, based on previous experiences with similar storms. An Air Force Reconnaissance plane, Hurricane Hunters, is scheduled to fly into the weather system at 3:30 p.m. to gather additional data on Maria’s intensity.
Forecasts indicate, Maria is on track pass within 10 miles of St. Croix at 7 pm Saturday; 39 miles southwest of St. John at 9 pm Saturday and 30 miles southwest of St. Thomas at 10 pm Saturday. Tropical storm force winds, winds in excess of 39 miles per hour are now expected to affect St. Croix for ten hours beginning at 11 am Saturday; for ten hours across St. John beginning at 2 pm Saturday and for 11 hours across St. Thomas beginning at 2 pm Saturday.
Based on the National Weather Service’s forecast and VITEMA’s recommendation, Gov. De Jongh has directed that the issuance of sandbags begin immediately
territorywide.
According to Public Works Commissioner Darryl Smalls, sandbags are available at the Department of Public Works’ facilities in both the St. Croix and St. Thomas-St. John districts and will be issued between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. today and Friday. Public Works’ facilities are at Anna’s Hope and Estate Concordia on St. Croix, at Sub-Base in St. Thomas and at Susannaberg in St. John.
Bags and sand can also be obtained from the following fire stations:
- Cotton Valley Fire Station and Grove Place on St. Croix.
- Tutu, Fortuna and Fort Christian on St. Thomas.
For more information on the locations and issuance of sandbags call the Department of Public Works at 773-1290 on St. Croix, 774-4617 on St. Thomas and 776-6346 on St. John.
Port conditions have not changed as of noon today. According to Port Authority Executive Director Ken Hobson reported to Gov. de Jongh that flights have not been cancelled and that the US Coast Guard is awaiting data from the Hurricane Hunter reconnaissance mission before making a determination on the condition of ports.
VITEMA has partially activated its Emergency Operations Centers territorywide, which means that emergency services coordinators have been placed on high alert for possible full activation on Saturday.
Both Gov. De Jongh and VITEMA Director Elton Lewis have remained in constant contact with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) leadership at Region 2 and at the Caribbean Area Division in Puerto Rico. A FEMA Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT), which assists the Territory’s in its response effort, has been deployed and is scheduled to arrive in the Territory today.
The Office of the Governor and VITEMA continues to urge residents to closely monitor news on Tropical Storm Maria for possible watches and warnings, which may be issued as early as Friday.
“It’s important that everyone begin to prepare for what is expected to be significant rain event,” Lewis said. “Individuals and families should have essential emergency supplies on hand to last for at least three days, including dry goods and water, and should be ready to react if flooding is observed.”
For more information on how to preparedness steps visit
www.VITEMA.gov. VITEMA also encourages residents to register at www.VITEMA.gov for VI Alert to receive free real-time alerts and notifications from the National Weather Service.
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