The models may change over the coming days, but as of now, Saturday #HurricaneIrma is still scheduled to turn north right around Florida.
Currently within South Florida, there are long lines at grocery stores and gas stations as residents stock up.
By Tuesday afternoon, Irma packed maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour, which puts it in the top five most intense hurricanes ever in the Atlantic.
Only one other Atlantic hurricane in history has had stronger winds — Hurricane Allen hit 190 mph in 1980, a record for modern-day storms, while 2005's Wilma, 1988's Gilbert and a 1935 storm hit the Florida Keys all had 185 mph winds.
#HurricaneIrma is so strong it's showing up on seismometers — equipment designed to measure earthquakes. It's not unusual for large storms to register on seismometers for hours to days as they pass over.
Hurricane Irma, hitting downtown Miami and its ever-growing collection of sparkling skyscrapers could exact a hefty price: $300 billion, according to one insurance underwriter.
If #Irma reaches Florida, the hurricane could put a strain on U.S. disaster-relief efforts as millions across southeastern Texas start to rebuild in Harvey’s wake.
As potential US landfall is still days away... Irma is not predicted to be near the Florida mainland until possibly Sunday morning, and its precise path has yet to be forecast.
No one knows where it will hit. No one knows when. Only time will tell the story.
As if all this isn't bad enough, a new tropical storm also formed in the Atlantic on Tuesday, to the east of Irma. Jose was moving west-northwest at 13 mph and expected to become another hurricane by Friday.