"Euro 9KM deepens almost 30 mb from initialization ( 956) with 8 pm landfall near Port Charlotte 928 mb . All models seeing major deepening" [intensification]
"Euro 3km would likely see this quite a big deeper,. Lowest pressure likely midway between GFS and Euro, maybe 910 mb. Would beat Donna" (if it gets to 910 mb, that would be a Cat 5-level storm again)
I won’t be even a bit surprised if she goes back up to a CAT 5.....she’s going to have a feast in the warm waters.
Irma is blowing up big right now in infrared while still on the coast of Cuba. Probably cause the sun has been heating everything up this time of day. If she ramps up to cat 5 again while still near Cuba, she is once again in control of the steering. At a Cat 5, Irma is making the climate now around her.