Major Hurricane Maria is now a monster; hurricane hunter aircraft has found that Maria is now a Category 5 hurricane, the highest possible rating on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

Air Force Reserve hurricane hunter aircraft data indicate Hurricane Maria has intensified into an extremely dangerous hurricane with maximum winds of 160 mph and gusts to 200 mph.

The storm is located at 15.3N 61.1W, roughly 15 miles east south east of Dominica and about 40 miles north of Martinique. The storm is moving west north west at 9 mph, will result in a catastrophic blow to Dominica. Minimum central pressure is down to 929mb.

Efforts to protect life and property should be rushed to completion on the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico which is also on target for a direct strike on Wednesday.