It might be a good idea to cover the window as well if that's possible.

Roughly 2 AM Monday according to the latest from NOAA-NHC warning probability cones. But that can change.

What category Hurricane are they estimating Irma to be when it reaches you?

Be careful.

I saw this and couldn't resist.


Jeanette Isabelle

That answers the question about your sense of humor.

My youngest sister sent that image to Mom.

Jeanette Isabelle

almost right.
But Disney is somewhat safe - they are way up north in Orlando.

The LATEST ground track prediction shows Irma coming ONSHORE directly at the southern suburbs of Miami. Wow, if that happens, Irma will do the same thing to Miami that Harvey did to Houston.
Pretty unbelievable. But let's wait and see.

Meanwhile, Irma still has sustained max winds of 175 mph. Which means that the passage beside Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic did NOTHING to blunt the fury of this hurricane.

Hope we hear from more people in southern Florida. It would be good to get a live update.

Irma predicted to be a CAT 4 hurricane when it hits Miami. But let's wait and see.
The hurricane is about the same width as the entire state of Texas (from Louisiana to New Mexico).
The eye of the hurricane is about 15 miles wide.

The 'worst side' of Irma is the east side (as the storm veers northwards).
So if the eye makes landfall just south of Miami, then the worst impact (for hurricane force winds) might be in the northern suburbs of Miami, up to Fort Lauderdale or even Boca Raton.
But the whole of the east coast of Florida will get a strong lashing from the wind and the rain.

PHOTOS
Building damage and flooding in St Martin.
http://www.reuters.com/news/picture/pictures-report-idUSRTX3F4FN

THESE PHOTOS
are better because they are taken from street level.
Click on the arrows on the main photo at the top of the news story.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/hurricane-irm...-123152060.html

SPECIAL THANKS to all the staff at NOAA and NHC who are doing an excellent job with these hurricane maps and predictions!

"Greatest Evacuation In History" - 650,000 Ordered To Leave Florida

There's an image at the end of the article ...

Note that on that model Irma comes ashore in downtown Miami and then goes off-shore near Melbourne, FL. With that model, Miami gets wiped, then when the storm goes back to sea it can restrengthen and continue a deluge of Florida as it aims for SC. That's a really bad scenario. The NHC model still shows Irma tracking straight up the peninsula which should weaken it.

In either model, Miami gets wiped.

Russ - for sure. If the storm goes back out to sea, that will be very bad news for South Carolina.

If the storm makes landfall between the Keys and Miami, and goes up the center of Florida - then it looks like Hurricane force winds will hit many east coast cities ... all the way from the Keys to West Palm Beach (maybe Cape Canaveral).

BUT - there is also a chance this storm could veer to the west. In which case Fort Myers and Tampa will take the real punishment.

Just the same, Miami was really smart to order a major evacuation.
There is going to be so much rain in southern Florida - the whole place will turn into the Everglades. The commentary from the Air Force Reserve - "a spectacular storm" - really says it all. They flew through the storm, so they should know.

MEANWHILE ...
there are uncertainties about the true arrival time of Irma.
At 11am Eastern time Friday, Irma was 405 miles southeast of Miami and moving at 14 mph. Therefore, landfall in less than 36 hours. Meaning the hurricane could come ashore on Sat evening or midnight. There are uncertainties in the path and speed of the storm, as it makes the "turn" northwards.

The National Weather Service is saying that in lowland areas of southern Florida, people might not be able to return to their homes for weeks or months. Areas will be uninhabitable.

Hurricane Irma has been re-graded to a Cat 5 Hurricane.
++ It is now strengthening. ++

Now 345 miles from Miami, moving at 12 mph.
Therefore, likely to reach Florida on Sun morning.

The latest course will take the storm right through the Florida Keys. Hard to imagine that anyone would "sit this one out" in the Keys. Will Key West even survive???

The ground track has shifted west, the Eye will not go through Miami. It is now forecast to graze the west coast of southern Florida, right past Fort Myers. Looks like vulnerable suburbs in Tampa should be evacuating. And all towns nearby.