Hurricane Irma upgraded to category 5
Hurricane Irma continues to strengthen as it tracks into the Caribbean, posing dangerous threats for more than a dozen islands. Hurricane watches are in effect as torrential rain, damaging winds, and storm surge moves towards the islands.
Early Tuesday morning the system increased to a category 5 as winds were clocked at 175 mph, well above the category 5 threshold. Wind gusts have been in excess of 200 mph. The storm will continue to move west as a category 5 hurricane before it weakens as it approaches Cuba and the Florida coastline.
The Leeward Islands will be one of the areas affected by this major hurricane. Hurricane Watches have also been issued for the British and US Islands, as well as Puerto Rico. The current track of the hurricane shows Irma affecting the Leeward Islands through Tuesday afternoon and evening. Irma looks to be a category 5 storm, just north of San Juan, by Thursday at 8 PM. As the hurricane makes landfall on the Caribbean islands, the strength and intensity of the system will likely fluctuate.
Irma will remain a threat in the Caribbean through the week, but the threat to continental United States is increasing. South Florida should be prepared for evacuation as models begin to show more agreement and consistency. Latest model solutions continue to show the track heading north towards Florida. By 11 PM on Saturday Irma looks to be off the coast of Florida as a category 4. Of course, this is still fairly far out and the track of the storm system is likely to change. Florida has been declared into a state of emergency.
The National Weather Service urges people to be aware of fake forecasts that show Irma impacting the coast of Texas and Louisiana, where Harvey made landfall last week. The ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Team will continue to accurately track Irma and the impacts to the United States as they continue to change.
