MIAMI (CBSMiami) – After battering Puerto Rico, Hurricane Maria is now lashing northeastern Dominican Republic.

At 5 a.m., the center of the Category 3 hurricane was about 70 miles north of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Maria was moving to the northwest at 9 mph with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph with higher gusts. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 150 miles. Punta Cana in the eastern Dominican Republic recently reported a wind gust to 56 mph.

A turn toward the north-northwest is forecast on Friday. On the forecast track, the eye of Hurricane Maria will continue to pass offshore of the northeastern coast of the Dominican Republic today. Maria should then move near the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas tonight and Friday.

Some strengthening is possible during the next day or so.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for…

 * Dominican Republic from Cabo Engano to Puerto Plata

 * Turks and Caicos Islands and the Southeastern Bahamas

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for…

 * Dominican Republic west of Puerto Plata to the northern border of the Dominican Republic and Haiti

 * Dominican Republic west of Cabo Engano to Punta Palenque

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for…

 * Dominican Republic from Isla Saona to Cabo Engano

Strong gusty winds are still occurring over portions of Puerto Rico, but should continue to gradually subside this morning.

 Tropical storm or hurricane conditions are continuing across portions of the warning areas in the Dominican Republic. Hurricane conditions are expected to begin in portions of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas tonight, with tropical storm conditions beginning in these areas later today.

A dangerous storm surge accompanied by large and destructive waves will raise water levels by as much as 4 to 6 feet above normal tide levels in the hurricane warning area in the Dominican Republic, and 1 to 3 ft elsewhere along the northern coasts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

A dangerous storm surge accompanied by large and destructive waves will raise water levels by as much as 9 to 12 feet above normal tide levels within the hurricane warning area of the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Maria is expected to produce the following rainfall accumulations through Saturday:

*Puerto Rico…additional 4 to 8 inches, isolated maximum storm total amounts 35 inches.

 *U.S. and British Virgin Islands…additional 2 to 4 inches.

 *Northern and eastern Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos, and Mayaguana in southeast Bahamas…8 to 16 inches, isolated 20 inches.

 *Inagua Islands, Crooked Island, and rest of southeast Bahamas…4 to 8 inches.

 *Northern Haiti…2 to 4 inches.

Rainfall on these islands will continue to cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.
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• Click here to download the CBS4 2017 Hurricane Guide (English) </s> Hurricane Maria is currently located about 20 miles west-southwest of St Croix and about 85 miles southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The storm has maximum sustained winds of 165 mph, making it a category 5 hurricane. It is moving at 10mph in a west-northwesterly direction. The NOAA said: “On the forecast track, the eye of Maria will cross Puerto Rico today, and pass just north of the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic tonight and Thursday. “Some fluctuations in intensity could occur before the hurricane reaches Puerto Rico, but Maria is forecast to remain an extremely dangerous category 4 or 5 hurricane as it moves over Puerto Rico.

“Slow weakening is expected after the hurricane emerges over the Atlantic north of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.” “Tropical storm conditions will continue in portions of the warning area in the Leeward Islands this morning. “Tropical storm and hurricane conditions are occurring over the Virgin Islands and will spread over Puerto Rico in the next few hours. “Hurricane conditions are expected within the Hurricane Warning area in the Dominican Republic tonight, with tropical storm conditions expected by later today.” Tornadoes are possible over Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands today.

A deadly storm surge accompanied by large waves will raise water levels by as much as 7 to 11 feet near the British Virgin Islands. Water levels will rise by as much as 4 to 6 feet in the hurricane warning area in the Dominican Republican and by 1 to 3 feet elsewhere along the northern coast of Hispaniola. In Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, water levels will rise by as much as 6 to 9 feet if the peak surge coincides with the high tide. Maria is expected to produce the following rain accumulations through Friday:
• Northern Leeward Islands from Barbuda to Anguilla...additional 3 to 6 inches.
• US and British Virgin Islands...additional 8 to 12 inches, isolated 16 inches.

Rainfall on all of these islands will cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides. Surf swells are affecting the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. These swells will begin affecting the northern coast of Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Southeastern Bahamas during the next day or two. A Hurricane Warning is in effect for: </s> SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Much of the eastern Caribbean island of Barbados shut down on Monday as Tropical Storm Dorian approached the region and gathered strength, threatening to turn into a small hurricane that forecasters said could affect Puerto Rico and its neighbors later in the week.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley closed schools and government offices across Barbados as she warned people to remain indoors.

"When you're dead, you're dead," she said in a televised address late Sunday. "Stay inside and get some rest."

The U.S. National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning for Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It also issued a tropical storm watch for Dominica, Martinique, Grenada, Saba and St. Eustatius. The storm was expected to dump between 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) of rain in Barbados and nearby islands, with isolated amounts of 6 inches (15 centimeters).

As of 8 a.m. EDT Monday, the fourth tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season was centered about 205 miles (330 kilometers) east-southeast of Barbados and moving west at 14 mph (23 kph). Maximum sustained winds were at 60 mph (85 kph). Forecasters said it could brush past southwest Puerto Rico late Wednesday as a Category 1 hurricane and then strike the southeast corner of the Dominican Republic early Thursday.

In Barbados, many of the 285,000 inhabitants heeded the government's warning, including Fitz Bostic, owner of Rest Haven Beach Cottages. He said he's prepared in case officials shut down power and utility services as they have in previous storms.

"We have to be very cautious," he said in a telephone interview. "The word 'storm' frightens me man. I'm very nervous."

In the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, hundreds of people have been crowding into grocery stores and gas stations to prepare for Dorian, buying food, water and generators, among other things. Many are worried about power outages and heavy rains on an island still struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm that hit nearly two years ago. Some 30,000 homes still have blue tarps as roofs and the electrical grid remains fragile and prone to outages even during brief rain showers.
Puerto Rico is forecast to get an additional 4 inches (10 cm) to 8 inches (20 cm) of rain through Saturday, on top of the several feet of rain that has fallen on parts of the island. Caguas has received the most, 37.9 inches (96 cm). The NHC expects 8 inches (20 cm) to 16 inches (41 cm) rain for the Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos, and Mayaguana in the southeast Bahamas.