Miami, Fla. (970 WFLA)-At 8 am, the eye of Hurricane Irma was located near latitude 21.8 North, longitude 74.7 West. Irma is about 80 miles northeast of Cabo Lucrecia, Cuba and about 450 miles southeast of Miami, Florida.
Irma is moving toward the west-northwest near 16 mph, and this motion is expected to continue for the next day or so with a decrease in forward speed. A turn toward the northwest is expected by late Saturday.
On the forecast track, the eye of Irma should move near the north coast of Cuba and the central Bahamas today and Saturday, and be near the Florida Keys and the southern Florida Peninsula Sunday morning.
Maximum sustained winds are near 150 mph with higher gusts. Irma is a category 4 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 hurricane as it approaches Florida.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles.
The latest minimum central pressure reported by a reconnaissance plane was 927 mb (27.37 inches)
.A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for..
.* Jupiter Inlet southward around the Florida peninsula to Bonita Beach
* Florida Keys
A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for..
.* North of Jupiter Inlet to Sebastian Inlet
* North of Bonita Beach to Venice
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for...
* Jupiter Inlet southward around the Florida peninsula to Bonita Beach
* Florida Keys* Lake Okeechobee*
Florida Bay*
Southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands*
Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus, andVilla Clara
* Central Bahamas
* Northwestern Bahamas
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for..
* North of Jupiter Inlet to Sebastian Inlet*
North of Bonita Beach to Anna Maria Island
* Cuban provinces of Guantanamo, Holguin, Las Tunas and Matanzas
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for..
.* Cuban provinces of Guantanamo, Holguin, and Las Tunas
Graphic Credit: NHC Miami