’Likely Catastrophic’ Hurricane Irma Slams Caribbean Islands as Category 5 Storm Anika Kentish - The Canadian Press
go to original September 6, 2017

Hurricane Irma explained (Al Jazeera)

Update: Irma Slams Cuba, Wobbles West and Takes Aim at Florida (Agence France-Presse)

Hurricane Irma roared into the Caribbean with record-setting force early Wednesday, shaking people in their homes on the islands of Antigua and Barbuda on a path toward Puerto Rico and possibly Florida by the weekend.

Irma, which was the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded north of the Caribbean and east of the Gulf of Mexico, passed almost directly over the island of Barbuda, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Authorities in the small islands of the eastern Caribbean were still evaluating the situation as the sun rose though there were widespread reports of flooding and downed trees. Antiguan police were waiting until the winds dropped before sending helicopters to check on damage reports of damage in Barbuda. There were no immediate reports of casualties.



The center of the storm was about 15 miles (25 kilometers) west of St. Martin and Anguilla about 8 a.m. Wednesday, the hurricane center said. It was heading west-northwest at 16 mph (26 km/h).

The storm had maximum sustained winds of 185 mph (295 kph), according to the Hurricane Center. It said winds would likely fluctuate slightly, but the storm would remain at Category 4 or 5 strength for the next day or two. The most dangerous winds, usually nearest to the eye, were forecast to pass near the northern Virgin Islands and near or just north of Puerto Rico on Wednesday.



... Also Wednesday morning, a new tropical storm formed in the Gulf of Mexico off Mexico's coast. Tropical Storm Katia had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) with some strengthening forecast over the next two days. But the hurricane center said Katia was expected to stay offshore through Friday morning.

And another tropical storm farther east in the Atlantic was expected to become a hurricane by Wednesday night. Tropical Storm Jose's maximum sustained winds had increased to near 60 mph (95 kph). The storm was centred about 1,255 miles (2,020 kilometers) east of the Lesser Antilles and was moving west near 13 mph (20 kph).

Read the rest at OurWindsor

Related: Hurricane Irma Is So Strong It’s Showing Up on Equipment Designed to Measure Earthquakes (Revere Press)

Related: Irma Is One of the Strongest Hurricanes Ever, National Hurricane Center Says (Scripps)

Related: Jose Strengthens to Category 2 Hurricane While Following Irma’s Path Through the Caribbean Islands (New York Daily News)

Related: This Striking Image from Space Shows All Three Hurricanes — Irma, Jose, And Katia — Currently in the Atlantic (Business Insider)

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