TS Dorian strengthened into a hurricane

Dorian strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday afternoon as it lashed the British and US Virgin Islands. As the storm approaches eastern Puerto Rico, it's threatening floods and landslides in some areas that were hard hit two years ago by Hurricane Maria.

Dorian's wind speeds won't approach those of Maria, the Category 4 storm that left more than 2,900 people dead in 2017. But they could be enough to strain Puerto Rican power infrastructure that's still in tenuous condition, CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said.

The storm's center was near the island of St. Thomas around 2 p.m. ET, with maximum, sustained winds of around 75 mph, just above minimum hurricane strength, the National Hurricane Center said.

The hurricane has already claimed its first indirect victim. An 80-year-old man fell from the roof of his house in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, as he was cleaning a drain while preparing for the storm, Puerto Rico Public safety Secretary Elmer Roman said at a briefing Wednesday.

Dorian's center may avoid Puerto Rico and slide just to its east late Wednesday afternoon, Myers said. But it still could dump 4 to 10 inches of rain in a matter of hours in parts of that island and the British and US Virgin Islands.

The storm's projected path has shifted significantly over the past day. Once projected to swing south of Puerto Rico and rumble over the Dominican Republic, it's now forecast that the center will miss Hispaniola altogether, though the Dominican Republic still could get tropical-storm rain and winds.