Posted on 09/05/2017 10:31:24 AM PDT by Red Badger
Irma spun into a monster storm Tuesday morning with sustained winds topping 180 mph, becoming the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded outside the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, National Hurricane Center forecasters said in their 11 a.m. advisory.
As the hurricane churns closer to the U.S. coast, its path becomes more certain, with South Florida, particularly the Keys, increasingly likely to take a hit. Tropical storm force winds could arrive as early as Friday. Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency for all 67 counties and has all 7,000 members of the state’s National Guard to report to duty on Friday.
Because Irma is so large, forecasters urged caution in paying too much attention to its exact track. The storm is continuing to roll west at 14 mph, with winds expected to begin battering the Leeward Islands today. A powerful high pressure ridge is steering the storm and will likely stay in place over the next few days, forecasters said. In five days, a trough moving across the U.S. should begin weakening the western edge of the ridge, allowing the storm to slide north. Where Irma makes the turn will determine impacts to Florida.
Monroe County announced that it will begin issuing mandatory evacuation orders for visitors at sunrise Wednesday. Residents will also be ordered to leave, although no time has yet been determined, county officials said. Schools and county offices will also be closed, beginning Wednesday.
“If ever there was a storm to take seriously in the Keys, this is it,” Monroe County Emergency Management Director Martin Senterfitt said. “The sooner people leave, the better.”
Dangerous conditions, with hurricane force winds, are expected to hit the Leeward Islands tonight and Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Wednesday. Fierce hurricane winds extend 60 miles from Irma’s center, with tropical storm force winds reaching another 160 miles.
Hurricane watches have also been issued for portions of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the southeastern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, with fierce winds, storm surge and heavy rain Thursday and Friday. In Puerto Rico, the governor has declared a state of emergency and is preparing to open 456 shelters that can house more than 62,000. Puerto Rico’s power company also warned that Irma could cut off the island’s electricity for four to six months.
Irma could strike a direct blow on the remainder of the Bahamas and Cuba later in the week, they said. The likelihood of Irma hitting the Keys or parts of South Florida is also increasing, however forecasters warned it’s too soon to determine what impacts the region might feel.
At 11 a.m., Irma was located 225 miles east of Antigua, heading west at 14 mph. While wind speeds could fluctuate over the next day or two, forecasters say it will likely remain a very dangerous Cat 4 or 5 storm as it heads westward.
WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!
It looks bad. Evacuate NOW while roads are still open for those in south Florida.
Go all the way to Georgia.
Not until next week.....................
Prayers for those in its path.
“ever recorded”. So how many years is that?
Panic now. Beat the rush. :-)
PS: I KNEW that the BADGERS would kick ass! Honest!
It’s going to hit Georgia. Bet on it.
While this truly is a monster storm, the media just loves to play up these storms to push the idea this is proof positive they are far worse due to global warming.
I suggest that these storms are worse now because weather conditions are just right to nurture them.
Over the last five years, weather condition weren’t just right to even allow storms to form.
It’s just weather doing what weather has always done, fluctuate.
Amen. Sincerely.
Glad I visited the keys last week. Grassy Key for some diving and fishing both in and off shore.
Course we took our boats and launched at Key West Municipal Marina and went around the island.
God Bless em if it hits.
On the way out I thought what a royal pain in the ass it would be to evacuate everyone on A1A. It was a pain just leaving on a Saturday morning last week in the rain.
30? maybe?
Hmm, “ strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded outside the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean...”
So, it is Not the strongest Atlantic hurricane! The Gulf and Caribbean are part of the Atlantic
Well, at least 117. When the Galveston hurricane of 1900 hit the United States, and especially Cuba, had very developed meteorological sciences devoted to Hurricanes.
Watch out for an even BIGGER hurricane: the Delusional Lying Leftist hurricane that will scream the lying half-truth, if any, “Global Warming”.
The Right, of course, will pick up the argument where the left wants them to and for the next number of weeks the argument will be about “global warming”.
But the argument is NOT about “global warming”. It is about what the Delusional Lying Left is really after - MAN MADE global warming, so they can argue for global totalitarian governmet.
Don’t go where the Left wants you to go. The Left might have an argument for global warming but they have ABSOLUTELY NO ARGUMENT for MAN MAD global warming. Shoot them between the eyes on that one. Fire away and sooner or later, they’ll whimper way with their tail between their legs.
The Right need to get smart about skewering the Left who are like sitting ducks and fat pig ready to be stuck.
Good point!
I’m sure the Clinton Foundation will gear up to help those impacted or steal billions of dollars.
117 at least.
Watch out for an even BIGGER hurricane: the Delusional Lying Leftist Hurricane that will scream the lying half-truth, if any, “Global Warming”.
The Right, of course, will pick up the argument where the left wants them to and for the next number of weeks the argument will be about “global warming”.
But the argument is NOT about “global warming”. It is about what the Delusional Lying Left is really after - MAN MADE global warming, so they can argue for global totalitarian governmet.
Don’t go where the Left wants you to go. The Left might have an argument for global warming but they have ABSOLUTELY NO ARGUMENT for MAN MADE global warming. Shoot them between the eyes on that one. Fire away and sooner or later, they’ll whimper way with their tail between their legs.
The Right needs to get smart about skewering the Left who are like sitting ducks and fat pigs ready to be stuck.
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