Hurricane Irma Battering Islands, Threat to Florida

Hurricane Irma Battering Islands, Threat to Florida

 In Event News

September 6, 2017 – Hurricane Irma remains at Category 5 strength and is moving over St Martin, Anguilla, St Kitts and Nevis this morning. It is expected to reach the British and US Virgin Islands, before passing near or just north of Puerto Rico later today. Forecasters expect the massive storm to turn north towards Turks & Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas, with the potential to reach Florida over the weekend.

And Hurricane Irma is currently just one of three active systems.

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EigenAlert subscribers will continue to receive automated notifications, specific to their custom settings, as Hurricane Irma progresses. The EigenPrism real-time event catalog contains forecast wind swaths, observed and forecasted wind footprints and storm surge flooding potential footprints to help users assess and analyze impact on their exposures.

September 5, 2017 – Hurricane Irma intensified further yesterday and overnight and is now a Category 5 storm, after being upgraded from Category 3 to 4 on Monday afternoon. It is now the strongest Atlantic hurricane since 2007 (Felix and Dean). Irma is expected to move west-northwest over the next 5 days, as a ridge of high pressure remains in the central Atlantic. It may begin to turn north by the weekend, which will determine how it may impact parts of the southeastern United States.

September 4, 2017 – As Hurricane Irma moves westward, bringing dangerous winds, storm surge and torrential rain across the Atlantic, hurricane warnings have been issued for nearly a dozen Caribbean islands. Currently a Category 3 storm, Hurricane Irma is is located 560 miles east of the Leeward Islands and is moving west-southwestward at about 14 mph.

Favorable conditions – low wind shear, increased mid-level moisture and warm sea surface temperatures – indicate Hurricane Irma will remain a major hurricane (Category 3 or stronger) for the next several days. Some intensity fluctuations are likely.

The NHC said: “Irma is expected to affect the northeastern Leeward Islands as a dangerous major hurricane, accompanied by life-threatening wind, storm surge, and rainfall impacts, along with rough surf and rip currents. There is an increasing chance that Hurricane Irma could impact Florida, although it is early to say what ‘direct impacts’ there could be to the US mainland.”

Hurricane Watches have also been issued for the British and US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, where gales are expected to arrive by early Wednesday.

The NHC added: “Irma could directly affect Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas, and Cuba as a dangerous major hurricane later this week.”

Hurricane Warnings: Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, St Kitts, Nevis, Saba, St Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy.
Hurricane Watches: British and US Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Vieques and Culebra.
Tropical Storm Warning: Dominica

Hurricane Irma Latest Dangerous “I” hurricane

"I" storms retired since 2000

According to the Weather Channel, there have been 8 hurricane names beginning with “I” retired since 2000. (Names for particularly deadly storms are retired to avoid confusion, as the names are recycled every 6 years. Irma is the replacement name for Irene, retired in 2011.

The “I” storms typically appear in early August through mid-October, when hurricane season is at its peak; the tropical easterly waves coming off western Africa are most vigorous, wind shear potential is low, and sea-surface temperatures are at their warmest. These factors combine to provide favorable conditions for developing long-lived, intense hurricanes.

The list includes some of the most notorious recent hurricanes:

  • Ingrid (2013): Triggered deadly flooding/mudslides (in addition to eastern Pacific Manuel) in Mexico
  • Igor (2010): Most damaging hurricane in recent history for Newfoundland; also struck Bermuda
  • Ike (2008): Massive storm surge on upper Texas, Louisiana coast; high wind event well inland to Ohio Valley, beyond
  • Ivan (2004): Devastated Grand Cayman; 10 to 15 foot surge along U.S. Gulf Coast; 120 tornadoes in U.S.
  • Isabel (2003): One of most significant hurricanes to hit eastern Virginia since Hazel (1954); storm surge up Chesapeake Bay
  • Isidore (2002): Heavy damage to agricultural interests in western Cuba, Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula
  • Iris (2001): Devastated southern Belize as a Category 4 hurricane