At 500 AM EDT (0900 UTC), the center of Hurricane Irma was located near latitude 28.9 North, longitude 82.6 West. Irma is moving toward the north-northwest near 18 mph (30 km/h) and this motion is expected to continue through Tuesday.
On the forecast track, the center of Irma will move near the northwestern coast of the Florida Peninsula this morning, cross the eastern Florida Panhandle into southern Georgia this afternoon, and move through southwestern Georgia and eastern Alabama tonight and Tuesday.
Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 75 mph (120 km/h) with higher gusts. Additional weakening is forecast, and Irma is expected to weaken to a tropical storm this morning and to a tropical depression by Tuesday afternoon.
Irma has a very large wind field. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km) mainly to the west of the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 415 miles (665 km).
The Mayport Naval Station near Jacksonville, Florida, recently reported sustained winds of 68 mph (109 km/h) and a wind gust of 87 mph (141 km/h).
STORM SURGE: The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the
tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by
rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water is
expected to reach the following HEIGHTS ABOVE GROUND if the peak
surge occurs at the time of high tide...
Cape Sable to Captiva...2 to 4 ft
Captiva to Anna Maria Island...3 to 5 ft
North Miami Beach to Cape Sable, including the Florida Keys...1 to 2
ft
Anna Maria Island to Clearwater, including Tampa Bay...2 to 4 ft
South Santee River to Fernandina Beach...4 to 6 ft
Clearwater Beach to Ochlockonee River...4 t 6 ft
Fernandina Beach to Jupiter Inlet...3 to 5 ft