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All storm pages · 2017 Atlantic season

Hurricane Maria 2017

Category 5 hurricane · Atlantic · September 16 to September 30, 2017

No storm in the record came ashore in Puerto Rico with stronger winds than Maria's 155 mph landfall on September 20, 2017; 9 storms have a landfall record there. It reached Category 5 with 175 mph winds, one of 44 Atlantic storms to do so since 1851. Its winds climbed 80 mph in the 24 hours to September 19. The name Maria is on the National Hurricane Center's list of retired Atlantic hurricane names.

Track of Maria (2017) from the best-track record, coloured by strength20°N30°N40°N70°W60°W50°W40°W30°W20°WDominica, 165 mphPuerto Rico, 155 mphPeak 175 mphFirst recordNot tropicalDepressionTropical stormCategory 1Category 2Category 3Category 4Category 500 and 12 UTCLandfall

Strength over time

Maximum sustained wind of Maria (2017) over time, in mphTSCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 504080120160200Sep 17Sep 19Sep 21Sep 23Sep 25Sep 27Sep 29Oct 1mph
  1. First record (tropical depression) 575 miles northeast of Paramaribo, Suriname
  2. Tropical storm 500 miles north-northeast of Paramaribo, Suriname
  3. Hurricane 180 miles east-northeast of Bridgetown, Saint Michael, Barbados
  4. Major hurricane 95 miles east of Fort-de-France, Martinique, France
  5. Landfall Dominica: Category 5, 165 mph, 922 mb
  6. Peak 60 miles south-southeast of Christiansted, the US Virgin Islands; lowest pressure 908 mb
  7. Landfall Puerto Rico
  8. No longer tropical (extratropical low) 800 miles east-southeast of Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada
  9. Last record far out at sea, at 48.0°N, 17.0°W

Against every Atlantic storm since 1851

Peak sustained wind175 mph · tied 11th of 1,98830 mph190 mph
Lowest central pressure908 mb · 12th of 1,277882 mb1016 mb
Accumulated cyclone energy44.8 · 24th of 1,7520.173.6
Days as a tropical or subtropical cyclone14.0 days · tied 66th of 1,9880.0 days31.8 days

In the 2017 season

04080120160200Maria

Storm 14 of 18 in 2017, hurricane 7 of 10; it formed after Lee and before Nate. Maria produced 20% of the season's accumulated cyclone energy and ranks second by peak wind. See the season.

Places the center passed

The center came within 50 miles of at least 8 towns or cities of 10,000 people or more while the system was tropical. Distances are to the interpolated track line, not the storm's edge.

PlaceClosestWind thenDate
Arecibo, Puerto Rico2 mi115 mphSeptember 20
Roseau, Saint George, Dominica9 mi165 mphSeptember 19
San Juan, Puerto Rico17 mi130 mphSeptember 20
Christiansted, the US Virgin Islands22 mi165 mphSeptember 20
Ponce, Puerto Rico25 mi125 mphSeptember 20
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico28 mi110 mphSeptember 20
Fort-de-France, Martinique, France40 mi150 mphSeptember 18
Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, France44 mi155 mphSeptember 19

Every storm within 50 miles of San Juan, Puerto Rico

Also peaked at 175 mph

Of 9 storms from other Atlantic seasons, the nearest in time: