National Hurricane Center Releases Update on Hurricane Irma

With time running out to evacuate, Floridians are now officially preparing for Hurricane Irma’s arrival as the Category 3 storm begins beating down the southern tip of Florida.

The hurricane’s powerful winds and outer rains lashed the Florida Keys on Saturday evening as the monstrous storm slowly began rotating from Cuba’s northern coast up into the Florida Strait.

As of 11 p.m. EST, the National Hurricane Center reports that wind gusts near the hurricane force are occurring in the Florida Keys Saturday night. With maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, Irma is expected to reinforce its vigor once it moves from Cuba, with the possibility of hitting the U.S. mainland as a Category 4.

Moving with sustained winds of 49 mph with a gust to 62 mph, the NHC tweeted a map of the imminent storm, showing a tropical storm system developing 8 p.m. EST Sunday, going into Monday morning.