Hurricane Dorian Gains Strength, Approaches Florida

Tropical Storm Dorian officially became Hurricane Dorian on Wednesday, its sustained winds topping 75 mph as it bore down on Puerto Rico and St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Forecasters are now warning the storm will strengthen into a dangerous Category 3 hurricane as it nears the U.S. mainland.

Puerto Rico, Vieques and the Virgin Islands are under alert, with hurricane conditions expected as the storm passes through that area. Dorian is currently crossing over St. Thomas, the National Hurricane Center says in its 2 p.m. ET update. The storm...

Hurricane Dorian was hitting the Virgin Islands on Wednesday, and was expected to slam into the island municipality of Culebra in Puerto Rico before moving into warm Atlantic waters, where it may strengthen into a major storm threatening the Southeastern United States.

The compact storm has been maddeningly difficult to forecast, as tends to be the case with smaller, disorganized systems.

The core of the storm, which reached hurricane strength shortly before 2 p.m. Eastern time, is no longer expected to cross through Puerto Rico’s big island. Puerto Ricans had...