PHILIPSBURG:--- Residents on all islands that are placed under hurricane watch are urged to take the necessary precautions and prepare for hurricane Irma that is scheduled to make landfall late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Hurricane warnings have been issued for portions of the Leeward Islands. This includes Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatius, Sint Maarten, St. Martin, and St. Barthelemy.
Irma has strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane, and additional strengthening is forecast during the next day or two.
Hurricane warnings have been issued for portions of the Leeward Islands, and a hurricane watch is in effect for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.Hurricane Irma has been located at 16.7 North and 55.0 W about 540 miles East South East of St. Maarten/ St. Martin. Iman is packing winds at 140MPH moving West at 13MPH.
Irma will move close to the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico into midweek, and then near Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos, Cuba and the Bahamas late week into this weekend.
This weekend into early next week, Irma will turn north and likely impact a portion of the U.S. coastline.
It's too soon to know exactly what impacts to expect in the U.S. and where they will occur, but the chances of Irma impacting Florida are increasing.
Hurricane Irma now a category 4 as it approaches Leeward Islands.
