Hurricane Irma Barreling Toward Florida
Hurricane Irma continues to churn in the Atlantic as one of the most powerful storms on record. As of this morning, Irma remains a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph and gusts to 220 mph. The center of Irma will pass just north of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, but head straight for the Turks and Caicos tonight.
From there, the southern Bahamas will be impacted by extreme wind, storm surge and flooding before Florida takes center stage.
The current forecast track from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) takes the center of Irma very close to Miami early Sunday morning and up the east coast of Florida. If the eye of Irma tracks through south Florida, makes landfall and head up the entire coast, damage will be widespread as well as catastrophic.
There is a slight glimmer of hope for Florida as new computer models trend east, taking the eye and worst weather just off the coast. Regardless, hurricane force winds of 74 mph and greater are still very possible with storm surge and flooding rainfall.
From there, Irma heads north to Georgia and the Carolinas as a category 3 or 2 hurricane. Uncertainty remains with the exact track, but nonetheless Irma is an extremely dangerous and historic storm that bares watching closely.
Courtesy of Nashville’s WKRN News 2 – by – Hurricane Irma barreling toward Florida
