11 PM EDT Advisory Info: As of the 11 PM EDT advisory, Irma was a category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 160mph, a minimum central pressure of 924 millibars, and was moving west at 13mph.
Watches and Warnings:
A Hurricane Warning is in effect from the Volusia/Brevard County Line southward around the Florida peninsula to Anclote River, including the Florida Keys, Lake Okeechobee, and Florida Bay.
A Hurricane Watch is in effect north of the Volusia/Brevard County Line to Fernandina Beach and north and west of Anclote River to Indian Pass.
Forecast Track: Irma’s forecast track has shifted west today overall. This is because the ridge of high pressure to Irma’s north has not yet begun to erode, forcing Irma to continue generally westward, and make landfall in Cuba.
Other than that, there has been no notable change. A shortwave trough (which is currently located over the Ozarks) is still expected to dig into the Southeast and erode the ridge tomorrow into Sunday, allowing Irma to turn north.
The only other change is that the threat of Irma tracking up Florida’s East Coast has gone down.
The two most likely scenarios now are: a landfall in South Florida Sunday, with a track up (or just off of) Florida’s West Coast into Monday, or a landfall in South Florida Sunday, with a track up the Florida Peninsula into Monday.
Intensity Forecast: Irma will be a category 4 – 5 status up until landfall. However, it is impossible to determine exactly how strong Irma will be at landfall due eyewall replacement cycles and the potential for further land interaction with Cuba.
Hurricane #Irma has a massive wind field & will “spin down” slowly up I-75 to Atlanta.
> 21 Million to see Hurricane-force gusts > 74 mph pic.twitter.com/uVsiYAxwtc— Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) September 8, 2017
Impacts: Irma will bring significant, life threatening storm surge of up to or in excess of 9 – 12′ to the hurricane warned areas (and possibly areas under hurricane watches), and hurricane force winds and heavy rainfall which will extend well inland, all the way up through the Florida Peninsula regardless of the exact track Irma ultimately takes.
Note: It is important to heed all advice and comply with all instructions from officials regarding Irma, as this is an extremely dangerous storm, and catastrophic, devastating impacts will occur.
___
For future updates follow us on our social media:
You can also follow our hurricane Facebook page Hurricane Central, or our partner page Daimien’s Gulf Coast Atlantic/Pacific Hurricane Tracking Center.
