paragraph_text: Sandy developed from a tropical wave in the western Caribbean Sea on October 22, quickly strengthened, and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Sandy six hours later. Sandy moved slowly northward toward the Greater Antilles and gradually intensified. On October 24, Sandy became a hurricane, made landfall near Kingston, Jamaica, re-emerged a few hours later into the Caribbean Sea and strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane. On October 25, Sandy hit Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane, then weakened to a Category 1 hurricane. Early on October 26, Sandy moved through the Bahamas. On October 27, Sandy briefly weakened to a tropical storm and then restrengthened to a Category 1 hurricane. Early on October 29, Sandy curved west - northwest (the ``left turn ''or`` left hook'') and then moved ashore near Brigantine, New Jersey, just to the northeast of Atlantic City, as a post-tropical cyclone with hurricane - force winds.

paragraph_text: Hurricane Irene was a large and destructive tropical cyclone which affected much of the Caribbean and East Coast of the United States during late August 2011. Irene is ranked as the ninth - costliest hurricane in United States history. The ninth named storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, Irene originated from a well - defined Atlantic tropical wave that began showing signs of organization east of the Lesser Antilles. Due to development of atmospheric convection and a closed center of circulation, the system was designated as Tropical Storm Irene on August 20, 2011. After intensifying, Irene made landfall in St. Croix as a strong tropical storm later that day. Early on August 21, the storm made a second landfall in Puerto Rico. While crossing the island, Irene strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane. The storm paralleled offshore of Hispaniola, continuing to slowly intensify in the process. Shortly before making four landfalls in the Bahamas, Irene peaked as a 120 mph (190 km / h) Category 3 hurricane.

paragraph_text: Guajataca Lake, or Lago Guajataca, is a reservoir created by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority in 1929. It is located between the municipalities of San Sebastián, Quebradillas, and Isabela in Puerto Rico. The dam at Guajataca Lake experienced a structural failure on September 22, 2017, due to the hit from Hurricane Maria. The river, Río Guajataca, also carries the name.

paragraph_text: The List of Florida hurricanes encompasses approximately 500 tropical or subtropical cyclones that affected the state of Florida. More storms hit Florida than any other U.S. state, and since 1851 only eighteen hurricane seasons passed without a known storm impacting the state. Collectively, cyclones that hit the region have resulted in over 10,000 deaths, most of which occurring prior to the start of Hurricane Hunters flights in 1943. Additionally, the cumulative impact from the storms totaled over $141 billion in damage (2017 USD), primarily from Hurricane Andrew and hurricanes in the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

paragraph_text: Hurricane Gladys was the farthest tropical cyclone from the United States to be observed by radar in the Atlantic basin since Hurricane Carla in 1961. The seventh named storm and fifth hurricane of the 1975 Atlantic hurricane season, Gladys developed from a tropical wave while several hundred miles southwest of Cape Verde on September 22. Initially, the tropical depression failed to strengthened significantly, but due to warm sea surface temperatures and low wind shear, it became Tropical Storm Gladys by September 24. Despite entering a more unfavorable environment several hundred miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, Gladys became a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scaleon September 28. Shortly thereafter, the storm reentered an area favorable for strengthening. Eventually, a well-defined eye became visible on satellite imagery.

paragraph_text: Puerto Rico has been discussed as a potential 51st state of the United States. In a 2012 status referendum a majority of voters, 54%, expressed dissatisfaction with the current political relationship. In a separate question, 61% of voters supported statehood (excluding the 26% of voters who left this question blank). On December 11, 2012, Puerto Rico's legislature resolved to request that the President and the U.S. Congress act on the results, end the current form of territorial status and begin the process of admitting Puerto Rico to the Union as a state.

paragraph_text: Hurricane Harvey Category 4 major hurricane (SSHWS / NWS) Hurricane Harvey at peak intensity, prior to landfall in southern Texas on August 25 Formed August 17, 2017 (2017 - 08 - 17) Dissipated September 3, 2017 (2017 - 09 - 03) (Extratropical after September 1) Highest winds 1 - minute sustained: 130 mph (215 km / h) Lowest pressure 938 mbar (hPa); 27.7 inHg Fatalities 63 direct, 27 indirect Damage ≥ $70 billion (2017 USD) (Preliminary total; unofficially third - costliest tropical cyclone in U.S. history) Areas affected Windward Islands, Suriname, Guyana, Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize, Cayman Islands, Yucatán Peninsula, Southern and Eastern United States (especially Texas, Louisiana) Part of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season

paragraph_text: Saint Kitts and Nevis along with Anguilla, became an associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. Anguillians rebelled and separated from the others in 1977. St. Kitts and Nevis achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1983. It is also  the newest sovereign state in the Americas. In August 1998, a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from St. Kitts fell short of the required two-thirds majority. In late-September 1998, Hurricane Georges caused approximately $458,000,000 in damages and property and limited GDP growth for the year and beyond. Georges was the worst hurricane to hit the region during the twentieth century.

paragraph_text: Forecasts of hurricane activity are issued before each hurricane season by noted hurricane experts such as Dr. William M. Gray and his associates at Colorado State University. A normal season as defined by NOAA has six to fourteen named storms of which four to eight reach hurricane strength and one to three become major hurricanes. The June 1988 forecast was that eleven storms would form and that seven would reach hurricane status. The forecast did not specify how many hurricanes would reach major hurricane status.

paragraph_text: The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed (with varying boundaries) from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of New Mexico, making it the longest - lived organized incorporated territory of the United States, lasting approximately 62 years.

paragraph_text: In 1949, the Territory and the Territory of New Guinea were established in an administrative union by the name of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. That administrative union was renamed as Papua New Guinea in 1971. Notwithstanding that it was part of an administrative union, the Territory of Papua at all times retained a distinct legal status and identity; it was a Possession of the Crown whereas the Territory of New Guinea was initially a League of Nations mandate territory and subsequently a United Nations trust territory. This important legal and political distinction remained until the advent of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea in 1975.

paragraph_text: Colorado Territory was officially organized by Act of Congress on February 28, 1861, out of lands previously part of the Kansas, Nebraska, Utah, and New Mexico territories. Technically the territory was open to slavery under the Dred Scott Decision of 1857, but the question was rendered moot by the impending American Civil War and the majority pro-Union sentiment in the territory. The name "Colorado" was chosen for the territory. It had been previously suggested in 1850 by Senator Henry S. Foote as a name for a state to have been created out of present-day California south of 35° 45'. To the dismay of Denverites, the town of Colorado City was designated the first territorial capital, quickly succeeded by Golden. Denver eventually became the temporary territorial capital, but was not designated the permanent capital until 1881, five years after Colorado became a state.

paragraph_text: Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful and catastrophic Cape Verde - type hurricane, the strongest observed in the Atlantic in terms of maximum sustained winds since Wilma and the strongest storm on record to exist in the open Atlantic region. It was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Hurricane Maria two weeks later, and is the second - costliest Caribbean hurricane on record, after Maria. The ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, second major hurricane, and first Category 5 hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Irma caused widespread and catastrophic damage throughout its long lifetime, particularly in parts of the northeastern Caribbean and the Florida Keys. It was also the most intense Atlantic hurricane to strike the continental United States since Katrina in 2005, the first major hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Wilma in the same year and the first category 4 hurricane to landfall in the state since Charley in 2004.

paragraph_text: September 10 -- 11 - Hurricane Irma makes landfall on Cudjoe Key as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 130 mph (215 km / h), then makes a second landfall on Marco Island with winds of 115 mph (185 km / h). It is the strongest hurricane in terms of windspeed to hit the state since Charley in 2004, and the most intense in terms of pressure since Andrew in 1992. Irma has killed at least 82 people in the state.

paragraph_text: New York is a state in the northeastern United States. New York was one of the original thirteen colonies that formed the United States. With an estimated 19.85 million residents in 2017, it is the fourth most populous state. To differentiate from its city with the same name, it is sometimes called New York State.

paragraph_text: Hurricane Deck is an unincorporated community in Camden County, Missouri, United States, on the Lake of the Ozarks. It is part of the lake's resort area, and according to one source is named for a tornado which struck the area, tornadoes once being called "hurricanes" locally.

paragraph_text: Severe weather occurs regularly in North Carolina. On the average, a hurricane hits the state once a decade. Destructive hurricanes that have struck the state include Hurricane Fran, Hurricane Floyd, and Hurricane Hazel, the strongest storm to make landfall in the state, as a Category 4 in 1954. Hurricane Isabel stands out as the most damaging of the 21st century. Tropical storms arrive every 3 or 4 years. In addition, many hurricanes and tropical storms graze the state. In some years, several hurricanes or tropical storms can directly strike the state or brush across the coastal areas. Only Florida and Louisiana are hit by hurricanes more often. Although many people believe that hurricanes menace only coastal areas, the rare hurricane which moves inland quickly enough can cause severe damage; for example, in 1989, Hurricane Hugo caused heavy damage in Charlotte and even as far inland as the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwestern part of the state. On the average, North Carolina has 50 days of thunderstorm activity per year, with some storms becoming severe enough to produce hail, flash floods, and damaging winds.

paragraph_text: Jacksonville has suffered less damage from hurricanes than most other east coast cities, although the threat does exist for a direct hit by a major hurricane. The city has only received one direct hit from a hurricane since 1871; however, Jacksonville has experienced hurricane or near-hurricane conditions more than a dozen times due to storms crossing the state from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, or passing to the north or south in the Atlantic and brushing past the area. The strongest effect on Jacksonville was from Hurricane Dora in 1964, the only recorded storm to hit the First Coast with sustained hurricane-force winds. The eye crossed St. Augustine with winds that had just barely diminished to 110 mph (180 km/h), making it a strong Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Jacksonville also suffered damage from 2008's Tropical Storm Fay which crisscrossed the state, bringing parts of Jacksonville under darkness for four days. Similarly, four years prior to this, Jacksonville was inundated by Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Jeanne, which made landfall south of the area. These tropical cyclones were the costliest indirect hits to Jacksonville. Hurricane Floyd in 1999 caused damage mainly to Jacksonville Beach. During Floyd, the Jacksonville Beach pier was severely damaged, and later demolished. The rebuilt pier was later damaged by Fay, but not destroyed. Tropical Storm Bonnie would cause minor damage in 2004, spawning a minor tornado in the process. On May 28, 2012, Jacksonville was hit by Tropical Storm Beryl, packing winds up to 70 miles per hour (113 km/h) which made landfall near Jacksonville Beach.

paragraph_text: In total, 184 events are listed, with widely varying degrees of damage. A hurricane in 1609 was responsible for the first permanent settlement on Bermuda: in late July, the Jamestown - bound, British ship Sea Venture nearly foundered in the storm and sought refuge on the islands, which the passengers found surprisingly hospitable. Hurricane Fabian was the most intense storm to impact the territory in modern times, though officially it did not make landfall, and was the only storm to have its name retired for effects in Bermuda. The costliest storms were Fabian and Gonzalo, which caused about $300 million and $200 -- 400 million in damage respectively (2003 and 2014 USD). Accounting for inflation and continued development, Fabian would have likely wrought around $650 million in damage had it struck in 2014. The most recent tropical cyclone to affect the islands was Hurricane Jose in September 2017.

paragraph_text: Hurricane Maria was regarded as the worst natural disaster on record in Dominica and Puerto Rico, and caused catastrophic damage and triggered a major humanitarian crisis in the latter. The tenth-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record and the most intense tropical cyclone worldwide thus far in 2017, Maria was the thirteenth named storm, eighth consecutive hurricane, fourth major hurricane, second Category 5 hurricane, and the deadliest storm of the hyperactive 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. At its peak, the hurricane caused catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities across the northeastern Caribbean, compounding recovery efforts in the areas of the Leeward Islands already struck by Hurricane Irma just two weeks prior. Maria was the third consecutive major hurricane to threaten the Leeward Islands in two weeks, after Irma made landfall in several of the islands two weeks prior and Hurricane Jose passed dangerously close, bringing tropical storm force winds to Barbuda.

Question: In 2017, what was the name of the hurricane that hit the territory which has been suggested as a new addition to the United States?
Answer: Hurricane Maria