Irma update as of 11 p.m. (Changes with this advisory below)
Hurricane Irma will be moving through our area Sunday night.
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It’s finally -- slowly -- starting it’s northwest movement. It’s been wobbling, looking more like westward movements mixed with slight northward movements. That’s normal for these big hurricanes.
Irma did weaken Saturday because it hugged the northern Cuba coastline, so there is at least that little bit of good news. But unfortunately it’s now pulling back out over the warm Gulf stream waters and we expect it to intensify again before coming toward our area.
There is a slight chance it might not be able to regain its intensity but that’s not a likely scenario. Irma has had a history of sustaining its strength and probably will do so all the way through our area.
SUMMARY OF 1100 PM EDT...0300 UTC...INFORMATION
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LOCATION...23.5N 81.0W
ABOUT 30 MI...50 KM NNE OF VARADERO CUBA
ABOUT 90 MI...145 KM SE OF KEY WEST FLORIDA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...120 MPH...195 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NW OR 305 DEGREES AT 6 MPH...9 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...933 MB...27.55 INCHES
Bring your preparations to an end and get ready to stay inside. There will be major power outages and it will take a while to get things back up and moving after Irma moves by.
This will be the strongest hurricane this area has seen in modern times. The last time a storm this strong moved directly over the Tampa Bay area was in 1921.
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CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:
11 p.m. UPDATE - The Storm Surge Warning has been extended westward from the Suwannee River to the Ochlockonee River.
The Storm Surge Warning has been discontinued north of North Miami Beach to Jupiter Inlet.
The government of Cuba has discontinued the Hurricane Warning for the province of Camaguey.
5 P.M. UPDATE: - The Storm Surge Warning has been extended from the Volusia/Brevard County Line northward to the South Santee River.
The Hurricane Watch west of the Aucilla River to Indian Pass has been upgraded to a Hurricane Warning, and the Tropical Storm Watch west of Indian Pass to the Okaloosa/Walton County Line has been upgraded to a Tropical Storm Warning.
A Tropical Storm Warning has been issued north of Fernandina Beach to South Santee River.
The government of Cuba has discontinued the watches and warnings for Holguin and Las Tunas provinces.
11 A.M. UPDATE: - The Storm Surge Warning has been extended from Chassahowitzka to the Suwanee River.
The Hurricane Warning for the Gulf of Mexico coast has been extended to the Aucilla River. The Hurricane Watch is now in effect from west of the Aucilla River to Indian Pass.
So this now means the Hurricane Warning is for Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk and Manatee Counties.
8 A.M. UPDATE: - The Hurricane Warning and the Storm Surge Warning are extended northward along the Florida West coast from Anclote River to Chassahowitzka.
The Hurricane Warning is extended northward along the Florida East coast to the Flagler/Volusia County Line.
A Tropical Storm Watch has been issued north of Fernandina Beach to Altamaha Sound, Georgia.
Additional Watches and Warnings may be required for portions of the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, as well as portions of the Florida Gulf Coast later today.
SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:
A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for...
* South Santee River southward to Jupiter Inlet
* North Miami Beach southward around the Florida peninsula to the
Ochlockonee River
* Florida Keys
* Tampa Bay
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for...
* Fernandina Beach southward around the Florida peninsula to Indian
Pass
* Florida Keys
* Lake Okeechobee
* Florida Bay
* Cuban provinces of Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus, Villa Clara,
Matanzas, and La Habana
* Andros Island, Bimini, and Grand Bahama
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for...
* North of Fernandina Beach to Edisto Beach
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for...
* West of Indian Pass to the Okaloosa/Walton County Line
* North of Fernandina Beach to South Santee River
Make sure to watch our Tropical Updates each hour at :49
• What exactly are the spaghetti plots?
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Remember that the spaghetti model plot does not indicate the strength of a system or even development at all. It only predicts where this broad area of low pressure is expected to go.