Via Weather Underground:
Dorian was close to hurricane strength late Wednesday morning as it battered the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico with heavy rains and strong winds. Confidence is increasing that it will approach the Southeast U.S. early next week as a major hurricane. Update (1 pm EDT Wednesday): Dorian is now a hurricane with top winds of 75 mph, according to the 2 pm EDT advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
At 11 am EDT Wednesday, Tropical Storm Dorian was at the verge of hurricane strength, with top sustained winds of 70 mph, moving into the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. Hurricane warnings were flying for all of the Virgin Islands, plus Vieques and Culebra islands in Puerto Rico. San Juan, Puerto Rico radar and satellite imagery showed a much improved structure for Dorian compared to yesterday–a compact storm with increasing low-level spiral banding and a developing eyewall of heavy thunderstorms near the core. An expanding area of healthy upper-level outflow was also apparent. A cloud-free center that is likely to become an eye was beginning to appear on satellite imagery.