(National Hurricane Center)

• Hurricane Maria made landfall at Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands as a powerful Category 5 storm with 155-mph winds.

• Maria made landfall on the island of Dominica at 9:15 p.m. ET on Monday — the first Category 5 storm in history there — and early reports indicate "widespread devastation."

Hurricane Maria slammed the Virgin Islands overnight Tuesday and made landfall on Puerto Rico at 6:35 a.m. Wednesday.

The powerful, life-threatening Category 4 storm has sustained wind speeds of at least 155 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center's latest update.

Wind sensors in Yabucoa Harbor, Puerto Rico recorded sustained winds of 60 mph and a gust of 113 mph. The tide level there is already 4.3 feet above normal, and could reach 6 to 9 feet.

Maria first made landfall on the island of Dominica at 9:15 p.m. ET on Monday. Although the destruction is still being assessed, Roosevelt Skerrit, the prime minister of Dominica, wrote on his Facebook page: "Initial reports are of widespread devastation ... The winds have swept away the roofs of almost every person I have spoken to or otherwise made contact with." He hasn't given an update since.

Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are directly in Maria's path. The NHC reported that that the eye of the "potentially catastrophic" storm would continue to lash the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Wednesday, then head for the Dominican Republic.

It's still too soon to say whether Florida or other parts of the continental US will be in the storm's path after it crosses the Caribbean. For now, at least, it looks as though Maria will turn north before reaching Florida.

Hurricane warnings are currently in effect for the British and US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Culebra, Turks and Caicos, the Southeastern Bahamas, and Vieques — as well as parts of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Engano to Puerto Plata. Those locations are likely to see hurricane conditions within the next 36 hours. The NHC says preparations for life-threatening storm surge, rainfall flooding, and destructive winds "should be rushed to completion" in these areas.

Hurricane warnings were discontinued for St. Kitts, Nevis, and Montserrat, according to the National Hurricane Center's update at 8:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Tropical storm warnings were discontinued for Anguilla and St. Eustatius, but are still in effect for Saba and the island of St. Martin.

Hurricane watches — meaning hurricane conditions are possible within the next two days — are in effect for St. Barts, Anguilla, from Cabo Engano to Punta Palenque in the Dominican Republic.

The NHC may issue additional watches and warnings Tuesday or Wednesday.

'You have to evacuate. Otherwise, you're going to die.'

(A man removing a branch in a flooded street in Pointe-a-Pitre, on the island of Guadeloupe, after Hurricane Maria passed through.REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares)

Maria is the first Category 5 storm in recorded history to hit the island of Dominica. The last and only Category 4 storm to directly hit the island nation, Hurricane David in 1979, killed more than 50 people and left 60,000 homeless.

Dominica is home to roughly 70,000 people.

"The roof to my own official residence was among the first to go and this apparently triggered an avalanche of torn away roofs in the city and the countryside," Skerrit wrote on Facebook.

The nearby island of Guadeloupe was also slammed by bands of the storm, with serious flooding, damage to buildings, and widespread power losses.

Maria lost some strength as its eye moved over Dominica but quickly regained its Category 5 status Tuesday morning and got even stronger in the afternoon.

Rain bands from Maria started to cover the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico Tuesday afternoon.

In the Virgin Islands, the soldiers who arrived to provide relief after Irma have been evacuated.

Puerto Rico, where many are just starting to recover from Hurricane Irma, rushed to complete last-minute preparations. The island avoided a direct hit from Irma, but its powerful storm surge and winds still caused many residents to lose power.

Puerto Rico declared a state of emergency on Monday, activating the National Guard to help the island prepare.

The public safety commissioner of Puerto Rico told those in evacuation zones: "You have to evacuate. Otherwise, you're going to die."

On St. Thomas and St. John in the Virgin Islands, residents have been urged to leave their homes for government shelters, since Irma damaged many houses. President Donald Trump also approved an emergency declaration for the Virgin Islands on Monday, giving the Federal Emergency Management Agency the go-ahead to coordinate disaster relief efforts there.

"Take this event seriously," Gov. Kenneth Mapp of the US Virgin Islands said at a press conference Sunday. "You cannot stay in those facilities. You will not survive."

He urged people who decide to stay in their homes to write their Social Security numbers on their bodies so they could be identified easily in a worst-case scenario.

The NHC warns that some of the greatest risk comes from storm surge that will be accompanied by "large and destructive waves."

Waters are expected to reach 6 to 9 feet above normal levels as the storm surge arrives in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Storm surge in the British Virgin Islands could be as much as 7 to 11 feet above normal. In the Dominican Republic, storm surge of 4 to 6 feet can be expected.

Total rainfall in the Virgin Islands is expected to be between 10 and 15 inches, with isolated areas receiving 20 inches. In Puerto Rico, rainfall is estimated to be 12 to 18 inches, with some areas receiving 25 inches.

(National Hurricane Center)

An unusually active hurricane season

Maria is the seventh hurricane of an unusually active Atlantic hurricane season, making this only the ninth year on record with seven hurricanes by September 17. There have been 13 named storms so far — the average by September 18 is 7.6.

This season is also significantly ahead of the average measures for major hurricane days and accumulated cyclone energy (a measure of storm strength, duration, and frequency). As a major hurricane, Maria is pushing those measures even further ahead.

(Army personnel evacuating the Virgin Islands ahead of Hurricane Maria.REUTERS/Jonathan Drake)

On Friday, Colorado State University's Tropical Meteorology Project issued a two-week forecast of above-normal cyclone activity for the Atlantic basin.

Hurricane Jose is still moving up the East Coast but is likely to stay offshore. The storm is nonetheless bringing tropical storm conditions — including winds, rainfall, and dangerous surf — to coastal and Mid-Atlantic areas.

Erin Brodwin contributed to this post.

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