Hurricane Irma feared to be stronger than devastating Hurricane Harvey

There are fears that Hurricane Irma, which is
threatening the Caribbean and could hit Florida at
the weekend, may be even stronger than Hurricane
Harvey when it hits land.
The US National Hurricane Centre said Irma was
"dangerous" and heading for the Leeward Islands
with 175mph winds.
By lunchtime (UK time) on Tuesday, it had been
upgraded from a category 4 to a category 5 storm.
Hurricane Harvey, a category 4 storm at its strongest,
had maximum sustained winds of 130mph just before
it made landfall in Texas, and ended up leaving
30,000 people homeless.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) is warning that Irma's winds
could strengthen further in the next 48 hours as it
approaches the Caribbean.
Sky News Weather Presenter Nazaneen Ghaffar said
the storm is currently out in the North Atlantic and
only a few hundred miles east of the Leewards
Islands, which include Montserrat, a British overseas
territory, and Antigua.
The latest advisory from the National Hurricane
Center is that it will score a direct hit on the island
of Barbuda at 2am AST (7am UK time) on
Wednesday, followed by another direct hit on
Anguilla, another British overseas territory, at 2pm
AST (7pm) the same day.
The predicted path of Hurricane Irma at 8am
AST (1pm UK time) on Tuesday
There is a chance it will go on to hit or pass very
close to Florida at the weekend, where it is expected
to bring around half a metre of rain.
"The initial threat of Irma is for the Leewards Islands
through Tuesday night and early Wednesday,"
Nazaneen Ghaffar said.
"As it gets closer, dangerous storm surge and large
breaking waves will make water levels rise and lead
to coastal flooding.
"Worst-hit areas look likely to be the British and US
Virgin Islands."
Forecasters have said Irma is a classic 'Cape Verde
hurricane' which forms in the far eastern Atlantic
near the Cape Verde Islands and then moves all the
way across the Atlantic.
Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne
has ordered workers to clear drains and prune trees
as branches could down power lines in strong winds.
8 am Special Advisory: #Irma is now a
category 5 #hurricane with maximum sustained
winds of 175 mph (280 km/h) More:
hurricanes.gov
1:16 PM - Sep 5, 2017
64 2,141 927
NHC Atlantic Ops
@NHC_Atlantic
"The passage of a hurricane is not a matter to be
taken lightly, but we must not panic," he said.
Governor of US territory Puerto Rico, Ricardo
Rossello, said 10-20cm of rain were expected, as
well as winds of 40-50mph as he warned of flooding
and power cuts.
A state of emergency was declared on the island,
which has a population of about 3.4 million.
Ronald Jackson, head of the Caribbean disaster
emergency management agency, said: "We're looking
at Irma as a very significant event.
"I can't recall a tropical cone developing that rapidly
into a major hurricane prior to arriving in the central
Caribbean."
Florida governor Rick Scott urged the state's
residents to ensure their disaster supply kits were
ready.
"FL (Florida) knows how important it is to be
prepared. Encourage your loved ones to have a plan
ahead of any potential storm," he tweeted.

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