Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 hurricane, is ripping through the Caribbean and could make a direct landfall on Florida by the weekend.
The NWS and Air Force Hurricane Hunter plane have measured winds at 195 miles per hour.
Irma has already hit northern Caribbean islands. Antigua, Barbuda, St. Martin/St. Maarten and St. Barts have seen significant damage. This video was shot in St. Maarten:
According to the National Hurricane Center, Irma will hit:
- Leeward Islands: through Wednesday
- Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands: Wednesday-early Thursday; tropical storm force winds will arrive during the early morning hours
- Dominican Republic/Haiti: late Wednesday-Thursday; tropical storm force winds will arrive Wednesday night or early Thursday
- Turks and Caicos: Late Thursday-Friday
- Bahamas: Friday-this weekend; tropical storm force winds may arrive as early as late Thursday
- Cuba: Friday-this weekend; tropical storm force winds will may arrive as early as Thursday night
- Southeast United States: This weekend into early next week, beginning in south Florida Saturday
Florida Landfall
At some point, models are showing the storm turning north sometime this weekend. Most now show that this will be over Florida or to the east of the coast.
The latest NHC forecast puts Irma making landfall in South Florida Sunday morning.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has already declared a state of emergency.
However, hurricane models average an error of between 175 and 225 miles, so no one is sure exactly where and when it will hit.
Local Weather
Middle Tennessee could see showers early next week from the remnants of Irma, with the 10-day forecast calling for showers and up to 17 mph winds on Tuesday.
