Maria, which has left at least two dead in the Caribbean, is forecast to "remain an extremely dangerous Category 4 or 5 hurricane" as it approaches Puerto Rico early Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said.
Maria could bring life-threatening flooding and mudslides, as well as a 6- to 9-foot storm surge, to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Dangerous flash flooding and mudslides are also possible, especially in mountainous regions in Puerto Rico.
As of 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Maria's maximum sustained winds had decreased to 160 mph, but it remained a Category 5 storm. Maria's maximum sustained winds had been as high as 175 mph during the day Tuesday. It was located 35 miles west of St. Croix and 70 miles southeast of San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. The storm is expected to reach the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico on Wednesday morning.
The last time Puerto Rico was hit by a Category 5 storm was in 1928.
President Donald Trump tweeted his best wishes and pledged support for the U.S. territory late Tuesday.
Early Wednesday, a gust of 137 mph had been reported in the western part of St. Croix as the storm moved west-northwest at 10 mph.
The prefecture of Guadeloupe announced early Wednesday two people were killed in the hurricane, and two others were missing.
A palm tree in St. Thomas appeared to be nearly uprooted as the storm moved over the island in video posted to Facebook.
Most models are forecasting Maria will stay away from Florida and the U.S. mainland.
Hurricane Maria forecast track as of Sept. 19, 2017.
Hurricane Maria forecast track as of Sept. 19, 2017.
The eye of the storm is expected to approach the eastern part of Puerto Rico and make landfall between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. Heavy winds and gusts over 100 mph for the eastern part of the island in the morning, while strong winds will affect San Juan into the afternoon hours.
It's been just two weeks since Hurricane Irma, which killed at least 39 people in the Caribbean and demolished homes, tore through Puerto Rico, and now Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello is saying Maria is "potentially most catastrophic hurricane to hit" the U.S. territory in a century.
A Category 4 storm hasn't hit Puerto Rico directly since 1932.
Rossello said a lot of infrastructure will likely be lost and he said communications will be affected.
The governor in an address this afternoon said, "We have not experienced an event of this magnitude in our modern history."
When Irma tore through the Caribbean, Rossello said, "the people of Puerto Rico not only demonstrated our resilience but we banded together to show our kindness and hospitality to thousands of our fellow Americans in the U.S. Virgin Islands, BVI, St. Marteen and beyond."
"Now we're looking down the barrel of Maria, a historic Category 5 hurricane. Although it looks like a direct hit with major damage to Puerto Rico is inevitable, I ask for America's prayers," he said. "No matter what happens here in the next 36 hours, Puerto Rico will survive, we will rebuild, we will recover and with your support, we will come out stronger than ever."
While Puerto Rico residents appeared to go about their days with little urgency Monday, many seem to be on edge today as the storm nears.
Workers dismantle a scaffold, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as the city prepares for the arrival of hurricane Maria which is approaching both the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico with winds of 160 miles per hour, storm surges and torrential rains.
As Maria hit the Caribbean island of Dominica Monday night, Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit published a series of dire Facebook posts, calling the 160 mph winds "merciless."
"We do not know what is happening outside. We not dare look out ... we pray for its end!" Skerrit wrote.
Maria was the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall on Dominica; before Monday the strongest hurricane to hit Dominica was Hurricane David, a Category 4 in 1979.
Guadeloupe and Martinique, which both neighbor Dominica in the Caribbean, were also battered with Maria's powerful winds and rain Monday night.
Officials said in Guadeloupe one person died from a falling tree.
Rocks swept by strong waves onto a road in Le Carbet, on the French Caribbean island of Martinique, after it was hit by Hurricane Maria, on September 19, 2017.
Powerful winds and rain of hurricane Maria battering Pointe-a-Pitre on the French overseas Caribbean island of Gaudeloupe, Sept. 19, 2017.
Dominica was "shut down" as the storm approached, said Anil Etienne, a spokesman for Dominica's Office of Disaster Management. Etienne told ABC News officials were worried about flooding in low-lying areas and opened about 146 shelters.
Powerful winds and rain of hurricane Maria battering Pointe-a-Pitre on the French overseas Caribbean island of Gaudeloupe, Sept. 19, 2017.
Powerful winds and rain of hurricane Maria battering Pointe-a-Pitre on the French overseas Caribbean island of Gaudeloupe, Sept. 19, 2017.
Skerrit gave an update this morning, writing on Facebook, "Initial reports are of widespread devastation. So far we have lost all what money can buy and replace. My greatest fear for the morning is that we will wake to news of serious physical injury and possible deaths as a result of likely landslides triggered by persistent rains."
"The winds have swept away the roofs of almost every person I have spoken to or otherwise made contact with," he continued. "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."
After hitting Puerto Rico, the storm will begin to turn north and is expected to come near the Dominican Republic Wednesday afternoon, potentially with winds over 100 mph.
Maria is forecast to then continue north, avoiding the Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas and Florida, before ending up out to sea.
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