Hurricane Irma Touched Down And It’s The One Of The Strongest Ever!

Hurricane Irma continues to gain strength as it makes its way up through the Caribbean Sea. The hurricane, which is officially a Category 5 storm, is being described as “potentially catastrophic” especially if it hits islands in the Caribbean during high tide.

On early Wednesday morning, Irma’s eye crossed over the tiny island of Barbuda, heading towards St. Martin before likely making its way towards the coast of Florida.

As of this writing, the storm, which is one of the most powerful Atlantic storms ever recorded, is packing winds of 185 miles per hour, moving west at 15 miles per hour.

Hurricane Irma is supposed to hit the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico hard, before moving on to Turks and Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas. At this point, it is unknown how much, if at all, Hurricane Irma will hit the Florida coast, but residents are not taking this storm lightly as you can see in the video below.

U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Kenneth E. Mapp announced a 36-hour curfew for his residents beginning at 6 a.m. local time Wednesday. Emergency evacuations have also been ordered for six southern islands in the Bahamas, which the country’s Prime Minister called “the largest such evacuation in the history of our country.”

The National Weather Service notes that Hurricane Irma is only the 5th Atlantic hurricane with peak winds of 185 mph or higher in recorded history.

This is a very dangerous storm, and anyone in the path of Hurricane Irma should take all necessary steps to ensure their safety.

If you know anyone who could potentially be impacted by Hurricane Irma, please share this story with them!

Source: CNN