Hurricane Irma will bear down on the Leeward Island today as an extremely dangerous Category 5 hurricane packing winds of near 175 mph with higher gusts.
At 8 a.m. the distinct eye centre of the system located near latitude 16.7 North, longitude 57.7 West.
Irma is moving toward the west near 14 mph (22 km/h), and this general motion is expected to continue today, followed by a turn toward the west-northwest tonight.
On the forecast track, the dangerous core of Irma will move near or over portions of the northern Leeward Islands tonight and early Wednesday.
Reports from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and US Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate Irma continues to strengthen and maximum sustained winds have increased to near 175 mph (280 km/h) with higher gusts.
“Irma is an extremely dangerous 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 forecast to remain a powerful category 4 or 5 hurricane during the next couple of days,” the National Hurricane Center said.
Several governments have already warned residents to take precautions to safeguard lives and properties and have also announced a shutdown of schools, businesses and urged emergency crews to be on standby.
“I also encourage the business community to be lenient with their employees by affording them sufficient time off from work in advance of the hurricane so that they can adequately prepare their own families and households in good time,” St Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris said, urging everyone to take the threat of the hurricane seriously.
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, St Kitts, and Nevis, Saba, St Eustatius, and St Maarten, St Martin and St Barthelemy, British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Vieques, and Culebra.
A Hurricane Watch remains in effect for Guadeloupe while a Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Dominica which is already being affected by very rough seas.
“Interests in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Cuba, and the southeastern and central Bahamas should monitor the progress of Irma,” the NHC warned.
It said that the combination of a dangerous storm surge and large breaking waves will raise water levels by as much as six to nine feet above normal tide levels along the coasts of the extreme northern
Leeward Islands within the hurricane warning area near and to the north of the centre of Irma.
“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,” it added.
Irma is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of four to eight inches with isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches across the northern Leeward Islands, the British and US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
“These rainfall amounts may cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides,” the NHC said. (NB/CMC)
