The tiny two-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean faced its third hurricane watch in two weeks as forecasters announced on Saturday the formation of Tropical Storm Maria, which was expected to strengthen to a hurricane.

The National Hurricane Center projected the storm would approach the Leeward Islands as a hurricane by Monday, and could reach Puerto Rico and the British and United States Virgin Islands by midweek. Its sustained winds reached 50 miles per hour on its westward path toward the Caribbean.

Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest hurricanes recorded in the Atlantic, killed dozens of people in the Caribbean this month. It devastated Barbuda, amplifying the immediate threat of Hurricane Jose by leaving half of its 1,600 residents homeless, according to Prime Minister Gaston Browne.

A mandatory evacuation order was issued for Barbuda in anticipation of Jose, but the storm has lingered in the Caribbean for more than a week without making landfall.