Hurricane Maria should follow a path similar to Hurricane Jose, doing damage in the Caribbean and then veering up into the Atlantic Ocean while missing the U.S. mainland. That’s what weather models are saying
Ed Valle, a meteorologist for BAMWX.com, tweeted that while the U.S. East Coast isn't completely in the clear, Maria's most-projected path by many of the weather models put it out to sea in the Atlantic.
The second huge hurricane of the season was doing terrible damage already, but nowhere nearly as much if it hits the U.S., USA Today noted.
Maria made landfall on Wednesday in Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane, moving over Vieques with maximum sustained winds of 155 miles per hour, the Daily Express reported.
Bob Henson, a meteorologist with Weather Underground, said Hurricane Jose is now expected to weaken to a high pressure ridge hovering over the eastern United States and most of the Atlantic Ocean.
"There is strong agreement among our best track models that Maria will be following in the footsteps of Hurricane Jose," moving into an area carved out by Jose's path staying off the U.S. East Coast, Henson told USA Today.
Without Hurricane Jose, Maria might have taken the same path as Hurricane Irma through Florida because of the high-pressure area becoming one solid ridge, USA Today explained.
The National Weather Service's "cone of uncertainty," tracked Maria turning north in the Atlantic Ocean and weakening to winds under 110 mph through next Monday morning.
The hurricane center's “Maria Forecast Discussion” on Wednesday said most models cluster the storm along the same track turning north into the Atlantic over the next 72 hours, but there is an increase in variation over Day 4 and Day 5.
It said the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecast model predicts the storm will move "near the western edge of the guidance envelope" but all of the reliable models will have Maria well offshore of the southeast United States.
The center also said the official forecast is very close to the latest Florida State University Superensemble track (FSSE around NOAA).
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.