Hurricane Irma, now a Category 5 storm, menaces U.S. east coast

The latest forecast models show Hurricane Irma barreling toward Florida and then veering north, putting Georgia, North Carolina and even Alabama in the firing line of the now Category 5 storm.

Even as the nation reels from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, Puerto Rico and Florida were forced to declare States of Emergency as Irma took a menacing path straight toward the Florida peninsula.

Irma intensified Tuesday to a Category 5 storm, with sustained winds of up to 175 mph. A Category 5 storm has sustained wind speeds of 157 mph or greater. The BBC Weather Service has reported gusts of up to 185 mph as the storm confronted Antigua. Early Tuesday morning, warnings were in effect for the Leeward Islands and the Greater Antilles.

Current models from the National Hurricane Center show the storm reaching Puerto Rico by around 2 p.m. Wednesday before starting a slow drift north over Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Bahamas before reaching Florida.

At that point, forecasts are very uncertain. The Weather Channel reported that high pressure over the Atlantic has pushed Irma to the west, but that the storm is likely to turn north later this week as it nears the coast.

Then, the storm could do any number of things. It could stall out and stay over the water, move north and fling out smaller storms over the coast and mainland, or barrel straight over Florida and over the east coast in general.

Many models show Georgia, the Carolinas and possibly even Alabama facing at least some effects from the storm, though meteorologists stress that they have low confidence in their predictions this early in the game.

Current models from the National Hurricane Center estimate the earliest that tropical-force winds could begin hitting the U.S. would be Saturday at about 8 a.m. But those predictions could change considerably in the next several days.

“There is an increasing chance of seeing some impacts from Irma in the Florida Peninsula and the Florida Keys later this week and this weekend. Otherwise, it is still too early to determine what direct impacts Irma might have on the continental United States,” the National Hurricane Center said in a statement.

“However,everyone in hurricane-prone areas should ensure that they have their hurricane plan in place”

This story was originally published September 5, 2017 at 7:53 AM with the headline "Hurricane Irma, now a Category 5 storm, menaces U.S. east coast."