Tropical Storm Dorian has been upgraded to hurricane status, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“Hurricane conditions are expected in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Culebra, and Vieques today,” the center’s website states. “Tropical storm conditions are expected today in Puerto Rico with hurricane conditions possible.”

Dorian could be a Category 3 hurricane by the time it reaches the U.S. east coast, according to the center.

Dorian became a hurricane near St. Thomas and the U.S. Virgin Islands where “multiple observations of hurricane-force winds were observed.”

Heavy rains from the hurricane could cause “life-threating flash floods,” according to the center.

The center advises people in affected areas to have a hurricane plan in place.

NBC reported that Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, said the storm is tracking more north than most forecasters predicted and that it could pass Puerto Rico, increasing the odds of it making landfall in the U.S. mainland.

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