Tech: Here are all the areas in Hurricane Irma's path and when the storm could arrive

The National Hurricane Center has said Irma is one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes recorded. Caribbean islands and Florida are bracing for the worst.

• Hurricane Irma started hitting the Leeward Islands, the chain of islands separating the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean, early Wednesday.
• By Thursday afternoon, the storm had moved through Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, St. Martin, Saint Barthelemy, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
• The monster Category 5 storm is forecasted to hit Florida on Sunday and move north along the US mainland.

Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded, started slamming the southeastern Caribbean islands early Wednesday with devastating winds, heavy rains, and catastrophic storm surges.

As of 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, the Category 5 storm's eye was 70 miles southeast of Grand Turk Island, with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph. The National Hurricane Center said the "extremely dangerous" hurricane was cruising northwest at 16 mph between Hispaniola and Turks and Caicos.

The NHC predicts Irma will keep battering the northern side of the Dominican Republic and Haiti on Thursday, reach Turks and Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas by Thursday night, and move across the central Bahamas on Friday.

Cuba's northeast coast will most likely see the storm Friday and Saturday, and then Irma is forecasted to take a sharp turn north, eyeing the US mainland.

What's next

The National Weather Service's latest forecast puts Florida in the storm's crosshairs, with Irma most likely arriving on the southern tip of the state Sunday morning, skirting its eastern coast on Monday, and heading for Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina on Tuesday morning.

The weather models still aren't sure what Irma's precise location or strength will be as it moves up the East Coast next week, but the NHC forecasts Irma will still be at least a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of above 130 mph when it hits Florida.

"The threat of dangerous major hurricane impacts in Florida continues to increase," Lixion Avila, a senior hurricane specialist at the NHC, wrote in a forecast Thursday morning, adding, "The chance of direct impacts is increasing in portions of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, but it is too early to specify the magnitude and location of the impacts."

Hurricane warnings are in effect in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos. Those islands can expect hurricane conditions within the next 36 hours.

A hurricane watch is in place in Cuba, the Florida Keys, Lake Okeechobee, Florida Bay, and Jupiter Inlet around the Florida peninsula to Bonita Beach. Those areas can expect tropical-storm conditions within the next two days.

"Irma poses the most serious hurricane threat to northern Cuba and Florida since at least Hurricane Andrew" in 1992, Jeff Masters, a meteorologist, wrote on Weather Underground on Tuesday.

Life-threatening winds

While Hurricane Harvey brought devastating floods late last month, Irma's biggest threat is likely to be its strong winds.

The Saffir-Simpson scale of a hurricane's intensity goes up to Category 5, but if it were extended to classify Irma's wind speeds — which can destroy most framed homes, topple trees, and knock down power lines — it could be considered a Category 6 storm, though that's not an official designation.

The NHC expects Irma to remain a "very powerful" Category 4 or Category 5 hurricane for the next couple of days.

Part of what makes this storm so dangerous is its sheer size — hurricane-force winds extend up to 60 miles from Irma's center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 185 miles, according to the NHC.

Florida's peninsula is only about 140 miles across at its widest, so even if Irma moves up the eastern coast as is projected, the entire state could feel the effects of the hurricane's powerful winds.

Dangerous flooding

The storm surge — the quick rise in water caused by a hurricane's strong winds — and wave height could also be devastating, particularly for low-lying Caribbean islands and coastal Florida.

In Florida, from Jupiter Inlet to Bonita Beach, including the Florida Keys, the NHC expects the storm surge to reach 5 to 10 feet above ground if Irma hits during high tide.

The NHC predicts storm-surge heights above normal tide levels of 15 to 20 feet in Turks and Caicos and the southeastern and central Bahamas, 5 to 10 feet on the northern coast of Cuba and the northwestern Bahamas, 3 to 5 feet on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, and 1 to 3 feet on the northern coast of Haiti.

When Irma passed through, surge heights were projected to reach 7 to 11 feet in the Virgin Islands and the northern Leeward Islands, 4 to 6 feet on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, and 2 to 4 feet on the southern coast of Puerto Rico and St. Croix. Water levels around Puerto Rico should return to normal on Thursday, the NHC says.

Northeast Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands could get an additional 2 to 4 inches of rain by the weekend, with some areas seeing up to 6 inches.

Through Saturday, Irma could dump 8 to 12 inches of rain on the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, with isolated totals reaching 20 inches. Andros Island and Bimini, Bahamas, could get 12 to 16 inches, with up to 25 inches in some spots. Northern Hispaniola and parts of Cuba could get 4 to 10 inches, with some areas seeing 15 inches, and southern Hispaniola could get 2 to 5 inches.

Southeast Florida and the upper Florida Keys could see 8 to 12 inches, with isolated totals up to 20 inches, and the lower Florida Keys could get 2 to 5 inches.

The rains could cause "life-threatening" flash flooding and mudslides, the NHC says.

Threats to the US mainland

The NHC is fairly certain Irma will make landfall in Florida as a catastrophic hurricane this weekend, and forecasters say residents should heed the advice of local officials and get ready if they are in the projected path of the storm.

The Florida Keys and the southern tip of the state are the most likely to see the worst effects of the storm before Irma starts to weaken after making landfall.

Forecasters aren't positive yet whether Irma will move up the East Coast, though the models are indicating that's increasingly likely, and that Georgia and the Carolinas could get hit.

"Since Irma is a large hurricane, [forecast] users are reminded to not focus on the exact forecast track since tropical-storm and hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surge extend far from the center," Daniel Brown, a senior hurricane specialist at the NHC, wrote on Tuesday.

"Everyone in hurricane-prone areas should ensure that they have their hurricane plan in place."

SOURCE - PULSE.NG posted by Campus94