Hurricane Maria strengthens ahead of expected turn to the north far off U.S. coast
Hurricane Maria strengthens ahead of expected turn to the north far off U.S. coast After devastating much of Puerto Rico, a briefly weakened Hurricane Maria regained strength Thursday as it swept into warm waters off the Dominican Republic head but is now expected to turn north well off the U.S. coast in the Atlantic. In the meantime, Maria was raking the northern tier of the Dominican Republic and bearing down on the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeastern Bahamas, which were under a hurricane warning. At 8 a.m., the National Hurricane Center said Maria — which had weakened to a Category 2 storm — had strengthened to a Category 3 again and was 95 miles north-northwest of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. It was packing winds of 115 mph and moving northwest at 9 mph. The NHC said hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 60 miles from the center. In the center of the storm: What it was like to ride out Hurricane Maria The storm has left at least 10 dead across the Caribb