The big picture: The storm threatens to dump more than two feet of rain on Puerto Rico, leading to “catastrophic” flooding, the National Hurricane Center warns. Hurricane-force winds have taken out the island’s fragile power grid.
Hurricane Fiona made landfall near Punta Tocon, located on the island’s southeast coast, around 3:20 p.m. local time, the National Hurricane Center said in a tweet. Maximum sustained winds were recorded at 85 mph, the agency said.
The storm has seen winds increase by 15 mph since the NHC was notified of then-Tropical Storm Fiona at 8 a.m. ET. The storm is a Category 1 hurricane and is expected to remain so until landfall in Puerto Rico. Ponce, on the south side of the island, has seen sustained winds of 69 mph with maximum gusts of 103 mph, according to the Hurricane Center. President Biden has already declared a federal disaster for Puerto Rico, mobilizing the delivery of aid to the island.
Data: National Hurricane Center; Map: Jared Whalen/Axios
Threat Level: The storm is likely to bring torrential rain to Puerto Rico through Monday, with a widespread area of 12 to 16 inches of rain expected. Larger amounts will fall in some locations, particularly at higher elevations, where up to 25 inches could fall in a short period of time.
“These rains will cause life-threatening and destructive flooding and urban flooding across Puerto Rico and the eastern Dominican Republic, along with mudslides and landslides in areas of higher ground,” the Hurricane Center warned as of 2 p.m. Sunday. . Almost the entire island was under a flash flood warning as of 4:15 p.m. ET. Heavy rain and hurricane-force winds are also expected in eastern parts of the Dominican Republic Sunday night and Monday. Puerto Rico’s power grid, which was severely damaged during Hurricane Maria in 2017, is down, with about 1.4 million customers without power as of 2 p.m. ET, according to Poweroutage.us.
The test for utility operators now will be how quickly they can restore power once the storm passes.
Storm surge flooding 1 to 3 feet above normal landfall is expected along the southern coast of Puerto Rico on Saturday, provided it peaks at high tide. The NWS in San Juan issued flash flood warnings throughout Sunday as rains cause rivers and streams to rise. Videos on social media showed torrents of water sweeping away bridges, power lines and other infrastructure in southwestern Puerto Rico.
Worth noting: The storm already holds a record for causing catastrophic flooding, after dumping nearly 20 inches of rain on the French island of Guadeloupe late last week. What’s next: Fiona is expected to continue to intensify once it moves northwest of Puerto Rico and north of the Dominican Republic. The storm is expected to slowly turn north by midweek as it moves near or over the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Fiona is now expected to become the first ‘major’ Atlantic hurricane of the season at Category 3 intensity or greater by mid-week. Most computer models now have the storm out to sea far east of the US mainland, but it could pose a threat to Bermuda later in the week.
