Irma Strengthens to a Category 4 Hurricane…
The people of St. Maarten are bracing themselves for the dangerous hurricane Irma, now packing winds of 135 miles per hour.
Irma has strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane, and additional strengthening is forecast in the next day or two as it enters warmer waters.
Hurricane warnings have been issued for portions of the Leeward Islands, including Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten. A hurricane watch is in effect for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Irma will move close to the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico into midweek, and then near Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos, Cuba and the Bahamas later in the week into the weekend.
The look of Irma has everything about it that reminds us of Hurricane Luis in 1995. Forecasters at this time are predicting that the eye wall of hurricane Irma will probably pass close to Anguilla and St. Maarten is not far off. If these predictions are correct we can expect a pretty direct hit.
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