Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, made landfall in the Caribbean at 2:00 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, with the storm’s eye passing over Barbuda with gusts of up to 155 miles per hour, as it roars forward to the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and other islands.
On Tuesday night, parts of the storm affected Antigua, with media houses on that island bringing live storm coverage overnight. “So far the picture across Antigua is that there’s mostly minor wind damage to structure. In terms of Barbuda, they have had the worst of the storm,” said a reporter with the Antigua Broadcasting Station, during a live video broadcast following N.H.C.’s Wednesday morning advisory. As the center of Hurricane Irma’s eye moved away from Barbuda, the storm was headed towards St. Martin, as that island braces for impact.
According to the National Hurricane Center’s (N.H.C.) 5:00 a.m. advisory, the center of Hurricane Irma was located near latitude 17.9 North, longitude 62.6 West. Irma is moving toward the west-northwest near 16 mph (26 km/h), 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 move over portions of the northern Leeward Islands this morning, move near or over portions of the northern U.S. Virgin Islands later today, and pass near or just north of Puerto Rico this afternoon or tonight. The British Virgin Islands will also see hurricane-force winds, as it appears to be in Irma’s direct path.
Governor Kenneth Mapp on Tuesday afternoon at a Government House press conference ordered a 36-hour curfew for the entire territory beginning Wednesday at 6:00 a.m. Mr. Mapp is acting under his authority during the state of emergency that he previously declared effective 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.
Under curfew restrictions, all persons without documented authorization are required to remain in their residences.
The beginning of the curfew coincides with the expected arrival of heavy rain and strong winds associated with Irma. Extending the curfew through daylight hours on Thursday will allow work crews to clear roads and restore services without being hindered, Mr. Mapp said. The governor has also deputized all territorial peace officers as law enforcement officers effective immediately.
Parts of St. Croix (we can confirm portions on the east near Buccaneer) were already experiencing power outages, although there’s been only scattered showers so far.
As for Irma’s projection, some fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next day or two, but the storm is forecast to remain a powerful category 4 or 5 hurricane during the next couple of days, according to N.H.C. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 50 miles (85 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 km). St. Martin recently reported a wind gust of 61 mph (98 km/h). The estimated minimum central pressure is 914 mb (26.99 inches).
The government of the Bahamas has issued a hurricane warning for the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and a hurricane watch for the Central Bahamas. The Meteorological Service of Barbados has discontinued the tropical storm warning for Dominica.
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for:
* Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, St. Kitts, and Nevis
* Saba, St. Eustatius, and Sint Maarten
* Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy
* British Virgin Islands
* U.S. Virgin Islands
* Puerto Rico, Vieques, and Culebra
* Dominican Republic from Cabo Engano to the northern border with
Haiti
* Guadeloupe
* Southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for…
* Haiti from the northern border with the Dominican Republic to Le
Mole St. Nicholas
* Turks and Caicos Islands
* Southeastern Bahamas
* Cuba from Matanzas province eastward to Guantanamo province
* Central Bahamas
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for…
* Dominican Republic from south of Cabo Engano westward to the
southern border with Haiti
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for…
* Haiti from south of Le Mole St. Nicholas to Port-Au-Prince
Tags: hurricane irma, us virgin islands, usvi
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