Maria prompts Barbados to issue hurricane warning: NHC

The Barbados government has issued a hurricane warning for the Caribbean island of Dominica as Tropical Storm Maria made its way west-northwest, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Sunday.

The storm, which the forecaster expects to reach hurricane status later Sunday, also prompted the island of St. Lucia to issue a tropical storm warning.

Maria was about 450 miles (720 km) east-southeast of the Leeward Islands at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), with maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour.

Source: Reuters