Hurricane Maria upgraded to ‘extremely dangerous’ Category 4 storm And What Will Al Gore And Friend Say Here Again, We Know All To Well Global Warming IS The Blame Again

Hurricane Maria quickly strengthened into an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm on Monday evening, hours after it had formed into a Category 3 earlier in the day.

The storm was 45 miles east-southeast of Dominica with maximum sustained winds up 130 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center's 5 p.m. advisory.

As Maria continues to strengthen in the Atlantic Ocean ahead of landfall, a hurricane warning has been issued for Puerto Rico, Culebra and Vieques, in addition to previous warnings in effect for Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Kitts, Nevis and Montserrat, Martinique, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands. 

The eye of the storm is expected to pass near the Caribbean island nation of Dominica Monday night.

Maria's path is forecast to move northward for the next couple days. 

The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico's governor has declared a state of emergency, and has activated the National Guard ahead of Maria's arrival.

"Despite the economic challenges Puerto Rico is facing, the approved budget has $15 million for the emergency fund," Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said in a statement.

A storm surge of six to nine feet has been predicted to hit Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where "the deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the north and east of the landfall location, where the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves," the NHC said.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/09/18/hurricane-maria-upgraded-to-extremely-dangerous-category-4-storm.html