Miami, Fla. (970 WFLA)- At 11:00 AM, the distinct eye of Hurricane Irma was located near latitude 20.4 North, longitude 69.7 West. Irma is about 75 miles east-northeast of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, about 120 miles southeast of Grand Turk Island.
Irma is moving toward the west-northwest near 16 mph , and this general motion is expected to continue with some decrease in forward speed for the next couple of days. On the forecast track, the eye of Irma should continue to move just north of the coast of Hispaniola today, be near the Turks and Caicos and southeastern Bahamas by this evening, and then be near the central Bahamas by Friday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 175 mph with higher gusts. Irma is a category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next day or two, but Irma is forecast to remain a powerful category 4 or 5 hurricane during the next couple of days. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles.
The minimum central pressure reported by an Air Force plane was 921mb (27.20 inches).
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for...
* Jupiter Inlet southward around the Florida peninsula to Bonita Beach
* Florida Keys
* Lake Okeechobee
* Florida Bay
* Cuba from Matanzas province eastward to Guantanamo province
A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for...
* Jupiter Inlet southward around the Florida peninsula to Bonita Beach
* Florida Keys
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for...
* Dominican Republic from Cabo Engano to the northern border with Haiti
* Haiti from the northern border with the Dominican Republic to Le Mole St. Nicholas
* Southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands
* Central Bahamas
* Northwestern Bahamas
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for...
* Jupiter Inlet southward around the Florida peninsula to Bonita Beach
* Florida Keys
* Lake Okeechobee
* Florida Bay
* Cuba from Matanzas province eastward to Guantanamo province
Graphic Credit:NHC