The track...look at the track. Almost no shift north. It is becoming an alarm to sound. I don’t know what is causing it, but it seems to be steadily marching westward. If it hits the warm Gulf, you haven’t seen anything yet.
The reason for that is that it is riding the southern side of an immense high pressure system. The upper level currents are all pushing it west.
The back side of that high is now running through the central part of Florida. And to that a low pressure system in the western gulf and there is a distinct steering slot that Irma will slide into. That slot now runs from Key West northward along the west coast of Florida.
Irma will track right into that slot, that is a 99.99% certainty. The only variable now is exactly where the slot is when Irma gets there.
The only way Irma pushes into the gulf is if the High suddenly zooms NE and there is no steering, or if she somehow gets into Cuba completely and shreds apart.
Give it 12 hours or so. Then we can watch our favorite episode of “As the Hurricane Turns”.
That’s my concern in the Cape Coral/Fort Myers area. People who were going to ride it out are now heading to shelters.