A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE ISLANDS OF THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS AND THE SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS.
A HURRICANE WARNING MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS CAN AFFECT THE AFOREMENTIONED ISLANDS WITHIN 36 HOURS.
AT 5PM EDT, THE CENTER OF HURRICANE IRMA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 18.8 DEGREES NORTH AND LONGITUDE 65.4 DEGREES WEST OR ABOUT 447 MILES SOUTHEAST OF THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS.
HURRICANE IRMA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST AT ABOUT 16 MPH AND THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. ON THE FORECAST TRACK, THE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CORE OF IRMA WILL PASS NEAR THE TURKS AND CAICOS AND THE SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS LATE THURSDAY.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS REMAIN NEAR 185 MILES PER HOUR WITH HIGHER GUSTS. IRMA IS A CATEGORY FIVE 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 FOUR OR FIVE HURRICANE DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.
HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 50 MILES FROM THE CENTER AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 185 MILES FROM THE CENTER.
RESIDENTS IN THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS RUSH TO COMPLETE ALL HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS AND PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO ALL ALERTS ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND EMERGENCIES.
EXTENSIVE TO SEVERE FLOODING CAN BE EXPECTED AS IRMA IS FORECAST TO PRODUCE RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 8 TO 12 INCHES.
THE COMBINATION OF DANGEROUS STORM SURGE AND LARGE DESTRUCTIVE WAVES CAN RAISE WATER LEVELS BY AS MUCH AS 15 TO 20 FEET ABOVE THE NORMAL TIDE. RESIDENTS LIVING NEAR THE COAST ARE ASKED TO MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND INLAND.
SMALL CRAFT OPERATORS THROUGHOUT THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS SHOULD IMMEDIATELY SEEK SAFE HARBOUR FOR THEIR VESSELS
