Coastal showers, high of 90 in Orlando; Maria tracking east of Florida

Strong hurricane expected to remain about 400 miles off coast

ORLANDO, Fla. – A small portion of Central Florida will see rain Tuesday as highs reach 90 degrees.

"We will be pinpointing a few showers along the coast of Brevard and Volusia counties through the day," News 6 meteorologist Troy Bridges said. "Winds off the ocean waters will lead to a few showers off and on."

Bridges said there will be a 20 percent coverage of rain.

"Mainly, it will be Volusia, Brevard and eastern Orange County," he said. "Most of the rest of Central Florida will not see much in the way of rain."

The high temperature will be close to 90 degrees, which is the average high on this date.

"Expect a high of 92 for Tuesday and Wednesday," he said.

Rain chances increase to 40 percent on Friday and Saturday after being at 20 percent on Wednesday and Thursday.

Pinpointing the tropics 

Hurricane Maria has regained Category 5 strength, upping its top wind speeds after it had briefly dropped to a Category 4 storm overnight near the island of Dominica.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said a hurricane hunter plane checking on Maria after it pounded that small Caribbean island reported the storm strengthened anew early Tuesday and again has top sustained winds of 160 mph (260 kph). The storm was located early Tuesday about 65 miles (100 kilometers) west-southwest of another Caribbean island, Guadeloupe. It's moving to the west-northwest at 9 mph (15 kph).

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Forecasters say a Category 5 hurricane is a major and extremely dangerous storm capable of catastrophic winds. They add that fluctuations in intensity were expected and that further strengthening is possible as the storm moves over warm Caribbean waters in the coming hours and days.

"The official track and models agree that Maria will make a turn to the north and be about 450 miles off the coast of Florida by the beginning of next week," Bridges said.

Elsewhere, in the Atlantic, Hurricane Jose is producing dangerous surf and rip currents along the East Coast of the United States. Forecasters said that storm is centered about 240 miles (390 kilometers) east-northeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina -- or about 365 miles (590 kilometers) south of Nantucket, Massachusetts. It's moving to the north at 9 mph (15 kph) with top sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph).

Watch News 6 and stay with ClickOrlando.com for updates.