Irma Makes Landfall On Cuba's Camaguey Archipelago
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Irma is making landfall on the Camaguey Archipelago of Cuba as a Category 5 hurricane as hurricane warnings extend northward along the Florida peninsula.
At 11 p.m., the Category 4 hurricane was about 300 miles south-southeast of Miami.
Irma is moving toward the west near 13 mph (20 km/h). A turn toward the northwest is expected by late Saturday. On the forecast track, the center of Irma will move near the north coast of Cuba through Saturday, near the Florida Keys Sunday morning, and then near the southwest coast of Florida Sunday afternoon.
Data from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 160 mph (260 km/h) with higher gusts. Irma is once again a category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next day or two, but Irma is expected to remain a powerful hurricane as it approaches Florida.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles (110 km) from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles (295 km).
A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for...
* Volusia/Brevard County Line southward around the Florida peninsula to Anclote River
* Florida Keys
* Tampa Bay
A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for...
* North of the Volusia/Brevard County Line to the Flagler/Volusia County line
* North of Anclote River to Suwannee River
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for...
* Volusia/Brevard County Line southward around the Florida peninsula to Anclote River
* Florida Keys
* Lake Okeechobee
* Florida Bay
* Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus, Villa Clara, and Matanzas
* Central Bahamas and Ragged Island
* Northwestern Bahamas
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for...
* North of the Volusia/Brevard County Line to Fernandina Beach
* North and west of Anclote River to Indian Pass
* Cuban provinces of Holguin and Las Tunas
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for...
* Cuban provinces of Holguin, Las Tunas, La Habana, and Ciudad de la Habana
STORM SURGE: The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water is expected to reach the following HEIGHTS ABOVE GROUND if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide...
SW Florida from Captiva to Cape Sable...8 to 12 ft Cape Sable to Boca Raton including the Florida Key...5 to 10 ft Venice to Captiva...5 to 8 ft Anclote River to Venice including Tampa Bay...3 to 5 ft Boca Raton to Flagler/Volusia County line...2 to 4 ft Anclote River to Suwannee River...3 to 6 ft
The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast in areas of onshore winds, where the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves. Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances. For information specific to your area, please see products issued by your local National Weather Service forecast office.
The combination of a life-threatening storm surge and large breaking waves will raise water levels ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS by the following amounts within the hurricane warning area near and to the north of the center of Irma. Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves.
Ragged Island in the Bahamas...15 to 20 ft Central and Northwestern Bahamas...3 to 6 ft Northern coast of Cuba in the warning area...5 to 10 ft
WIND: Hurricane conditions are still occurring over portions of the central Bahamas, as well as Ragged Island. Hurricane conditions are expected to continue within the hurricane warning area along the north coast of Cuba through Saturday. Hurricane conditions are expected in the northwestern Bahamas tonight and Saturday, and in portions of southern and central Florida and the Florida Keys Saturday night and Sunday.
Hurricane and tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area in central and north Florida by Sunday.
RAINFALL: Irma is expected to produce the following rain accumulations through Tuesday night:
Southern Bahamas and northern Cuba...10 to 15 inches, isolated 20 inches Southern Cuba...5 to 10 inches, isolated 15 inches
Jamaica...1 to 2 inches
The Florida Keys, much of the Florida peninsula, and southeast
Georgia...8 to 15 inches, isolated 20 inches The Florida Panhandle...3 to 6 inches, isolated 8 inches Rest of Eastern Georgia, western South Carolina, and Western North
Carolina...4 to 8 inches
Western Georgia, eastern and northern Alabama, and southern
Tennessee...2 to 5 inches
In all areas this rainfall may cause life-threatening flash floods and, in some areas, mudslides.
TORNADOES: A few tornadoes are possible from Saturday midday into Sunday across central and south Florida.
SURF: Swells generated by Irma are affecting the southeastern Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, and should start affecting portions of the southeast coast of the United States tonight. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
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