THIS IS A NEWS ITEM ON HURRICANE IRMA ISSUED BY THE BAHAMAS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY FORECAST OFFICE SECTION, AT NOON MONDAY, 4TH SEPTEMBER, 2017.
AT 11AM EDT, THE CENTER OF HURRICANE IRMA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 16.8° NORTH AND LONGITUDE 53.3° WEST OR ABOUT 560 MILES EAST OF THE LEEWARD ISLANDS.
IRMA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-SOUTHWEST NEAR 14 MILES PER HOUR (MPH). A TURN TOWARD THE WEST IS EXPECTED LATER TODAY, FOLLOWED BY A WEST-NORTHWEST TURN LATE TUESDAY. ON THE FORECAST TRACK, THE CENTER OF IRMA WILL MOVE NEAR OR OVER PORTIONS OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS TUESDAY NIGHT AND EARLY WEDNESDAY.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 120 MILES PER HOUR (MPH) WITH HIGHER GUSTS. IRMA IS A CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SCALE. ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT.
RESIDENTS OF THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS ARE TO REMAIN ALERT AND CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE SYSTEM.
… HURRICANE WARNINGS ISSUED FOR PORTIONS OF THE LEEWARD ISLANDS…
HURRICANE WATCHES ISSUED FOR THE BRITISH AND U.S VIRGIN ISLANDS AND PUERTO RICO…
