Hurricane Jose, a major Category 4 storm, is moving through the Caribbean with 145-mph winds

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September 5, 2017 7:56 PM

Hurricane Jose — the fifth hurricane of the 2017 season — is following behind Hurricane Irma in the Atlantic, but is expected to miss most populated areas.

Hurricane Jose, a Category 4 hurricane, is following Hurricane Irma through the Caribbean, but is expected to veer north this weekend.

As of Saturday morning, Jose's maximum sustained wind speed is 145 mph. It's located about 120 miles east of the Leeward Islands, a collection of islands in the Caribbean Sea that includes Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. It's moving northwest at 13 mph.

A hurricane warning is in effect for St. Martin and St. Barthelemy. Both of those islands were already devastated by Hurricane Irma, which first made landfall early Wednesday. Estimates suggest that roughly 95% of the buildings in St. Martin have been destroyed.

Luckily, the storm seems to be veering north, so its center will likely miss the islands of Barbuda and Anguilla, which are both still reeling from destruction caused by Irma.

A tropical-storm warning is still in effect for Barbuda and Anguilla, however, as well as Saba and St. Eustatius.

Although forecasters are watching Jose, Irma remains the most pressing concern, since the Category 4 storm is heading for Florida. Many parts of the state will likely be hit by the storm's winds on Saturday. Many parts of Florida, including the Keys and Miami area, have been been evacuated.

Meanwhile, the US is still recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall on August 25 and severely flooded parts of Texas and Louisiana. The storm dumped as much as 51.88 inches of rain in some spots and caused at least 60 deaths.

The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is around September 10, so it's not uncommon for storms to form during this time of year. However, 2017 has been an unusually active year for hurricanes. Another hurricane, Katia, hit Mexico on Friday night, but has since weakened. Katia was the season's sixth hurricane, though we don't typically see the fourth until around September 21.

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