Where Is Hurricane Jose Going And When Will It Hit?

Tropical storm Jose strengthened in the Atlantic Ocean Wednesday afternoon, officially reaching hurricane status. Hurricane Jose, located more than 1,000 miles east of the Lesser Antilles, was moving at 16 mph with winds of up to 75 mph, according to the National Hurricane Service.

Jose remained east of the devastating Hurricane Irma Wednesday afternoon. It remained unclear, exactly, what path Jose would take in the coming hours and days. The storm — which initially formed Tuesday morning — was expected to move close to the Leeward Islands, east of Puerto Rico, later in the week and potentially strengthen as it moved west.

Hurricane Irma hit the Leeward Islands early Wednesday — another hit by a separate storm could prove devastating.

“The northern Leeward Islands are at risk of contending with enhanced showers and tropical storm force conditions this weekend, which could hinder Irma recovery efforts,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller. “At the very least, rough surf will be stirred once again.”

Upon approaching the Leeward Islands, Jose would likely move out to sea due to a lack of “steering flow,” making it unlikely the storm would make landfall elsewhere, AccuWeather said. It posed no immediate threat to land, the National Hurricane Center said, but it noted the path could change at any moment. The storm had the potential to become a major hurricane Friday if winds reached 111 mph or above, CNBC reported.

“This one doesn’t pose as much of a threat to the direct southeastern United States as Irma does,” said Weather Channel meteorologist Ari Sarsalari, according to NBC News. “But the Leeward Islands would end up with another one-two punch. This could be pretty bad for them.”

Elsewhere in the Caribbean, Hurricane Irma wrought havoc on the islands of Barbuda and St. Martin, among others. The Category 5 storm was expected to head toward Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti before potentially making landfall somewhere in the continental United States.