Islands In The Caribbean Brace For Category 5 Hurricane Irma

Reuters: 'Potentially catastrophic' Irma barrels toward Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) - Highly dangerous Category 5 Hurricane Irma rolled toward the Caribbean and southern United States, packing winds of 185 miles per hour (295 km per hour) on Tuesday, even as Texas and Louisiana still reeled from devastating Hurricane Harvey.

Irma’s eye was forecast to cross the northern Leeward Islands, east of Puerto Rico, on Tuesday night or early Wednesday, and hurricane warnings were in place from there to the British and U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in a statement.

The NHC called Irma a “potentially catastrophic” Category 5 hurricane and tweeted that it was “the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic (Ocean) outside the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico in NHC records.” Category 5 is the highest NHC designation.

“Preparations should be rushed to completion in the hurricane warning area,” the NHC said.

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More News On Hurricane Irma

Five Day Cone For Hurricane Irma -- NOAA
Record-breaking Hurricane Irma bears down on Caribbean -- AP
Florida officials begin ordering evacuations as Hurricane Irma intensifies to a Category 5 storm -- Washington Post
Hurricane Irma, Now a Category 5 Storm, Threatens the Caribbean and Florida -- NYT
Virgin Islands Allows National Guard To Seize Guns, Ammo Ahead Of Hurricane Irma -- Daily Caller
Irma becomes strongest Atlantic hurricane outside Gulf and Caribbean ever recorded -- Miami Herald
Meteorological monsters: Only 3 Category-5 hurricanes have ever hit the U.S. -- USA Today
Hurricane Irma is one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes ever: what we know -- VOX
What Will Hurricane Irma Do Next? -- The Atlantic