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Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160665
08/31/2017 02:10 PM
08/31/2017 02:10 PM
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Hurricane Irma now Category 5 storm, 'extremely dangerous'

People need to keep a close eye on this one. Some models predict it will hit the east coast as a category 5.

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"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160666
09/01/2017 03:37 AM
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Irma Turning Into Monster Hurricane: “Highest Windspeed Forecasts I’ve Ever Seen”

Irma has become an impressive hurricane with intense eyewall convection surrounding a small eye

Zero Hedge - September 1, 2017

Hurricane Irma continues to strengthen much faster than pretty much any computer model predicted as of yesterday or even this morning. Per the National Hurricane Center’s (NHC) latest update, Irma is currently a Cat-3 storm with sustained winds of 115 mph but is expected to strengthen to a devastating Cat-5 with winds that could top out at 180 mph or more. Here is the latest from the NHC as of 5PM EST:

Irma has become an impressive hurricane with intense eyewall convection surrounding a small eye. Satellite estimates continue to rapidly rise, and the Dvorak classifications from both TAFB & SAB support an initial wind speed of 100 kt. This is a remarkable 50-kt increase from yesterday at this time.

Irma continues moving west-northwestward, now at about 10 kt. There has been no change to the forecast philosophy, with the hurricane likely to turn westward and west-southwestward over the next few days due to a building ridge over the central Atlantic. At long range, however, model guidance is not in good agreement on the strength of the ridge, resulting in some significant north-south differences in the global models. I am inclined to stay on the southwestern side of the model guidance, given the rather consistent forecasts of the ECMWF and its ensemble. In addition, the strongest members of the recent ensembles are on the southern side on the consensus, giving some confidence in that approach.

FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS

INIT 31/2100Z 17.3N 34.8W 100 KT 115 MPH

12H 01/0600Z 17.8N 36.2W 105 KT 120 MPH

24H 01/1800Z 18.2N 38.3W 105 KT 120 MPH

36H 02/0600Z 18.3N 40.7W 105 KT 120 MPH

48H 02/1800Z 17.9N 42.9W 105 KT 120 MPH

72H 03/1800Z 16.8N 47.5W 110 KT 125 MPH

96H 04/1800Z 16.0N 52.0W 115 KT 130 MPH

120H 05/1800Z 16.5N 56.5W 120 KT 140 MPH

As of now, Irma remains in the far eastern Atlantic ocean and is moving west at roughly 11.5 mph. Based on current projections, the storm will make its first landfall in the eastern Caribbean sometime toward the middle of next week.

IRMA

Longer term computer models still vary widely but suggest that Irma will make landfall in the U.S. either in the Gulf of Mexico or Florida. Meteorological Scientist Michael Ventrice of the Weather Channel is forecasting windspeeds of up to 180 mph, which he described as the “highest windspeed forecasts I’ve ever seen in my 10 yrs of Atlantic hurricane forecasting.”

These are the highest windspeed forecasts I've ever seen in my 10 yrs of Atlantic hurricane forecasting. #Irma is another retiree candidate. pic.twitter.com/e6nMsp1myY

— Michael Ventrice (@MJVentrice) August 31, 2017

In a separate tweet, Ventrice had the following troubling comment: “Wow, a number of ECMWF EPS members show a maximum-sustained windspeed of 180+mph for #Irma, rivaling Hurricane #Allen (1980) for record wind”

The Weather Channel meteorologist also calculated the odds for a landfall along the eastern seaboard at 30%.

Up to a 30% chance via the 12Z Calibrated ECMWF EPS for a landfalling Major Hurricane somewhere along the eastern seaboard #Irma pic.twitter.com/nUmZkPGJpY

— Michael Ventrice (@MJVentrice) September 1, 2017

Meanwhile, the Weather Channel has the “most likely” path of Irma passing directly over Antigua, Puerto Rico and Domincan Republic toward the middle of next week.

pic.twitter.com/XTQtUur1PH Nuevo análisis del huracán #Irma por The Weather Channel

— Roberto F. Pardo A. (@robertofaridp) August 31, 2017


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160667
09/01/2017 09:09 AM
09/01/2017 09:09 AM
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...And people seem to have stopped prepping altogether. I just don't get it.

Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160668
09/01/2017 03:25 PM
09/01/2017 03:25 PM
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Quote
Originally posted by airforce:
...And people seem to have stopped prepping altogether. I just don't get it.

Onward and upward,
airforce
I don't either. I kicked mine up several notches. It's going to bite a lot of people in the butt.

Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160669
09/02/2017 06:32 AM
09/02/2017 06:32 AM
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It's hard to prepare for 150 mph wind and 50 inches of rain. But, there's no excuse for not having the basics covered. Everyone along the Gulf or the East coast should be getting ready for Irma now. Don't wait till it's on your doorstep before making a mad dash to the store. Go now, beat the crowd.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160670
09/03/2017 04:52 PM
09/03/2017 04:52 PM
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Hurricane Irma has regained Category 3 intensity, and additional strengthening is likely in the coming days as it tracks west across the Atlantic. Environmental conditions could even support Irma becoming a rare Category 5 hurricane at some point, the first since 2016’s Matthew. Within the next five days, the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the Bahamas are most definitely at risk and should prepare for hurricane conditions (at least a close encounter if not a direct landfall).

Beyond then, forecast confidence drops dramatically. Some models curve Irma back out to sea before reaching the continental United States, but a significant percentage of models have Irma striking the U.S. East Coast as early as Saturday or Sunday. Therefore, anyone with interests from Florida to New England should monitor forecasts closely.

The center of Irma is still about 900 miles east of the Leeward Islands, 2,150 miles east-southeast of Miami and 2,150 miles southeast of Wilmington, N.C. The National Hurricane Center is predicting Irma to pass over or near the Leeward Islands on Wednesday, then to be near the eastern Bahamas by Friday. Beyond that, the spread in model tracks grows, but it usually does at such long lead times. Hurricane watches may be issued later Sunday for the Leeward Islands.

[img]https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/files/2017/09/145723_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind.png&w=480[/img]

In the longer range, beyond five days, we turn again to the model ensembles. Rather than relying on a single model or a single model run, we look at ensembles which generate dozens of model runs, each using slightly different initial conditions as input. The more similar the model tracks are to one another, the higher the forecast confidence. The larger the spread among the model tracks, the lower the forecast confidence. Watching the trends in these ensembles also helps wash out any erratic run-to-run changes.

Both the European and U.S. ensemble models below show similar forecasts with relatively high-probability tracks through about 168 hours (Saturday). Both then show a wide spread of track scenarios beyond that time, with landfall from Florida to New England possible, or staying out to sea. Note the European (ECMWF) ensembles show a little more potential for curving back out to sea than the U.S. (GEFS) ensembles, although even the European still shows a significant risk of U.S. landfall. On average, the European model is more skillful than the U.S. GEFS model for tropical cyclone tracks, and so far in Irma’s brief history, it does indeed have lower track errors.

https://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/files/2017/09/ensembles-693x1024.png

The trend over the past couple of days has been to keep Irma further south for longer, bringing it closer to the United States, but still turning toward the north near the coast. With this in mind, locations from South Florida up to New England are most definitely still in play and need to be paying close attention. With the shape of the coastline, you can easily see above how a slight difference in timing of that northward turn makes all the difference.

As far as impacts and timing, we can offer some hypothetical scenarios — that is, *IF* the hurricane were headed for Location A, it would make landfall on Date A. These are not official forecasts, only estimates based on current long-range model guidance. Dangerous tropical storm-force winds would typically arrive about a day earlier.

South Florida: Saturday/Sunday (Sept. 9/10)

South Carolina, North Carolina: Sunday/Monday (Sept. 10/11)

Delmarva, Long Island, Cape Cod: Monday/Tuesday (Sept. 11/12)

Looking through the records going back to 1851, 11 previous tropical cyclones passed within 200 miles of Irma’s current position as well as its three-day and five-day forecast positions (based on Sunday’s 5 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time advisory). Some infamous ones in that short list are the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926, Hurricane Gloria in 1985 and Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Note that six of the 11 recurved before reaching the U.S. East Coast.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160671
09/04/2017 06:24 AM
09/04/2017 06:24 AM
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Hurricane Irma to track toward US; Residents of East and Gulf coasts urged to prepare now

By Jordan Root, and Renee Duff, AccuWeather meteorologists

September 04, 2017, 1:04:28 PM EDT


As Major Hurricane Irma churns across the northern Caribbean and towards the United States, residents along the Gulf and East coasts of the U.S. need to be on alert.

Irma will blast the northern Caribbean with flooding rain, damaging winds and rough surf this week, bringing life-threatening conditions to the islands.

A similar scenario could play out somewhere along the Gulf or East coasts this weekend or next week, depending on where Irma tracks. Residents are urged to prepare now.

Evan's Irma quote on preparation


“This hurricane has the potential to be a major event for the East Coast. It also has the potential to significantly strain FEMA and other governmental resources occurring so quickly on the heels of Harvey,” Evan Myers, expert senior meteorologist and chief operating officer, said.

A landfall in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas is all in the realm of possibilities. Irma could also head into the Gulf of Mexico.

Another scenario still on the table is that Irma curve northward and miss the East Coast entirely. This would still generate large surf and rip currents along the East Coast. However, this scenario is the least likely to occur at this point.

[Linked Image]

The exact path of Irma beyond the end of the week remains uncertain and will depend on a variety of moving parts in the atmosphere.

“A large area of high pressure across the central North Atlantic is helping to steer Irma,” AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski said.

This feature will be the main driving force of Irma over the next few days. As the weekend approaches, other factors will come into play.

“The eastward or northeast progression of a non-tropical system pushing across the central and eastern U.S. this week will highly impact the long-range movement of Irma,” Kottlowski said.

How fast or slow this non-tropical system moves will be an important factor on where Irma is steered this weekend into next week. The speed of this feature will determine when and how much Irma gets pulled northward or whether Irma continues on more of a westward track.

This amount of uncertainty means that the entire southern and eastern U.S. should monitor Irma this week. Residents along the coast are urged to start preparing and making sure plans are in place to deal with the worst case scenario. This includes plans on how to evacuate and what is important to bring with you and your family.

"As we saw just 10 days ago with Harvey, it is important to be ready to evacuate," Myers said. Be prepared with a list of items you would need to take if you had 30 minutes' notice or one hour's notice or six hours or a day to evacuate.

Due to Irma following so closely on Harvey's heels and since FEMA and other government resources will be strained, more preparation and storm aftermath may rest on individuals, Myers said. It may be crucial to evacuate ahead of the storm, so preparation is key.

If Irma were to make landfall as a Category 4 or 5 storm somewhere in the U.S., it would be in historical territory.

"The U.S. has not sustained a direct hit from two Category 4 or above hurricanes in more than 100 years,” Myers said.

Keep checking back to AccuWeather for updates on the status of Irma and where it may track in the days ahead.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160672
09/05/2017 08:14 AM
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http://www.nola.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2017/09/us_virgin_islands_seizing_guns.html

U.S. Virgin Islands seizing guns, ammo in anticipation of Irma
Updated on September 5, 2017 at 12:30 PM Posted on September 5, 2017 at 12:27 PM


By Todd Masson

tmasson@nola.com,

NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

The governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands has ordered the territory's national guard to begin seizing guns and ammunition from citizens in preparation for Hurricane Irma's landfall.

In an executive order signed Monday, Gov. Kenneth Mapp instructed Adjutant General Deborah Howell "to take whatever actions she considers necessary to carry out the assigned mission" of maintaining and restoring public order.

"The Adjutant General is authorized and directed to seize arms, ammunition, explosives, incendiary material and any other property that may be required by the military forces for the performance of this emergency mission," the governor said in the order.

The order went into effect Tuesday at 12:01 a.m.

Located about 40 miles east of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands consist mainly of St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas islands. The territory has a population of more than 100,000 residents.

As of midday Tuesday, the forecast track of Irma would take the powerful cyclone just north of the islands, with the most intense effects of the storm occurring early Wednesday morning. Irma's winds are forecast at that time to be about 175 m.p.h.

"This is not an opportunity to go outside and try to have fun with a hurricane," Mapp told ABC News. "It's not time to get on a surfboard."


My Daddy is like duct tape, he can fix almost anything.

A quote from my youngest daughter at 4yrs old, many years ago.
Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160673
09/05/2017 09:38 AM
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Hurricane Irma strengthens into category 5 storm with 185 mph winds

By Daniel Dahm -

ORLANDO, Fla. - Hurricane Irma, which has strengthened to a Category 5 storm packing winds of 185 mph, is expected to slam the Caribbean and possibly the U.S. mainland this week.

The increasingly menacing storm would continue churning west in the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday, and meteorologists say Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands could begin to see its wrath by the end of the day, according to the National Hurricane Center.

As of Tuesday, the "dangerous major hurricane" was was centered about 250 miles east of Antigua and moving west at 14 mph.

Florida prepares for the worst

Gov. Rick Scott said Tuesday he hopes the devastation in Texas caused by Hurricane Harvey does not repeat itself in Florida.

The Florida Department of Transportation will suspend all tolls starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, or GOAA, said they are monitoring the storm's track and planning for how the Orlando International Airport will respond when and if the storm hits.

Flight cancellations are determined by the airlines, not the airport, GOAA spokeswoman Carolyn Fennell said.

Officials in the Florida Keys issued a mandatory evacuation for visitors starting Wednesday at sunrise. Residents will also be required to leave, but officials did not say when those evacuations would begin.

“If ever there was a storm to take seriously in the Keys, this is it,” Monroe County Emergency Management director Martin Senterfitt said. “The sooner people leave, the better.”

There will be no shelters in Monroe County.

Landfall is expected early Wednesday on the island of Anguilla, the hurricane center said.

"The current track brings Irma to South Florida by Saturday," News 6 meteorologist Troy Bridges said. "Computer models want to take Irma on that sharp turn north through the end of the weekend and beginning of next week."

There's a large area of high pressure, as well as a trough, helping to steer Irma to the north in the coming days.

While Irma's exact path is still uncertain, several islands in the Caribbean as well as Florida are bracing for the storm.

11 AM #Irma track makes more of a turn North. Central Florida is in the cone. Max Winds: 180 mph. pic.twitter.com/RSt8Czwm2n — Troy Bridges (@TroyNews6) September 5, 2017

After declaring a state of emergency all across Florida, Gov. Rick Scott said President Donald Trump had "offered the full resources of the federal government as Floridians prepare for Hurricane Irma."

"In Florida, we always prepare for the worst and hope for the best, and while the exact path of Irma is not absolutely known at this time, we cannot afford to not be prepared," Scott said in a statement.

Puerto Rico

Hundreds of people rushed to the stores, emptying shelves of food and drinking water just as the governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosselló, declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard on Monday.

For hours, people also lined up outside hardware stores hoping to get plywood, batteries and power generators. If Irma knocks out power, Puerto Ricans said they are worried it would take weeks or months before the power is restored.

"It (power) is something absolutely necessary, especially due to Puerto Rico's weather. We need to have the A/C or a fan on all night," a woman told CNN affiliate WAPA.

Last month, the director of Puerto Rico's power utility Ricardo Ramos Rodríguez, said several factors have made the island's electric system "vulnerable and fragile," WAPA reported.

One of those factors is the shortage of employees. Many workers recently retired or left their jobs for better prospects in the US mainland, Ramos Rodríguez said.

Public schools and officials at the University of Puerto Rico campuses have canceled classes, and many businesses remain closed.

Puerto Rico and a string of Caribbean islands are under hurricane warnings, including the British and US Virgin Islands, Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Martin/Sint Maarten and St. Barts, the hurricane center said.

The warnings are usually issued to areas that could see "tropical-storm-force winds" of up to 140 mph in about 36 hours after the alert goes into effect.

"Make a U-turn and die in the ocean, Irma. The Caribbean islands don't need more problems!," Twitter user mujertropical wrote about the storm.

'Better safe than sorry'

By the weekend, it's possible that Irma could start heading to the eastern coast of Florida and also farther up the East Coast, Javaheri said.

"Everyone wants to see this at least meander away from the United States. The strength, the positioning, the timing of that troughs coming in to the eastern coast line will dictate exactly where Irma ends up," Javaheri said.

In Miami, supermarkets are already selling out on water and non-perishable food. People are trying to beat the rush in case Irma makes landfall in Florida.

"I've been through hurricanes and they're like, 'Oh, it's going to hit right here' and then it hits 30, 40 miles up the coast and it kind of changes the way everything goes so, better safe than sorry," Florida resident Greg Andrews told News 6 partner WPLG-TV in Miami.

OneBlood calls for donations

With the threat of Irma, OneBlood is calling for immediate donations ahead of the storm.

For a list of places where you can donate, you can visit OneBlood's website.

Why Irma could be especially intense

Irma is a classic "Cape Verde hurricane," meaning it formed in the far eastern Atlantic, near the Cape Verde Islands (now known as the Cabo Verde Islands), before tracking all the way across the Atlantic, CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller said.

And Cape Verde storms frequently become some of the largest and most intense hurricanes. Examples include Hurricane Hugo, Hurricane Floyd and Hurricane Ivan.

#Irma is still several days away from a potential impact to FL, but many aren't taking chances and preparing now. https://t.co/U1Fb2UMBwt pic.twitter.com/3ktMD0uSY6 — Mark Lehman (@MarkLehman6) September 5, 2017


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160674
09/05/2017 01:02 PM
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This storm is a monster. According to one model I saw, the only thing keeping Irma from becoming a Cat 6 hurricane, is that there is no Cat 6.

If you live in the path of this, and they tell you to evacuate, don't be an idiot. Get the hell out.

Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160675
09/05/2017 02:14 PM
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The Keys are already under mandatory evacuation and voluntary evac is urged for south Fla.

The entire east coast is in the probable path of this storm. High wind, possible tornadoes and flooding is highly probable across the southeast.

Emergency supplies are already growing short with long lines at the gas pump. Do NOT procrastinate get food, batteries and fuel now. Water can be stored in 1 gallon milk jugs or 5 gallon water totes.

Additional emergency frequencies have been added to the first post in this thread. If you're in the effected area you need to monitor these with a sideband capable shortwave radio.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160676
09/06/2017 02:44 AM
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Some family friends have already been evacuated from a 'sensitive military installation' in the Keys. The whole base except for a very small security team has been moved to the main land and sent to Orlando for now.

I flew with the old Navy Hurricane Hunters for two years out of Jacksonville and this one is scary even to me. In the old Hurricane Hunters we were very proud of how many folks we saved by our early warnings. Now that NOAA and the Air Force have taken over it is like folks do not listen to their warnings anymore. I was watching the Discovery Channel program the other day on P-3 Orions and they showed two of the planes I have flown on in 1974 still flying with the NOAA teams. They have updated the interiors a BUNCH though.

Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160677
09/06/2017 04:55 AM
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Hurricane Irma: If There Was Such A Thing As A Category 6 Hurricane, This Would Be It

This is not just another storm

Michael Snyder Economic Collapse - September 6, 2017

Hurricane Irma has become even stronger than the most extreme forecasts were projecting.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Irma had sustained winds of 185 miles per hour at one point on Tuesday. That makes it the strongest Atlantic hurricane in history “outside the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean”. I was criticized for suggesting that Irma could become so powerful that it could potentially be labeled a “category 6” storm if such a thing existed. Well, now it has actually happened. If you extrapolate the Saffir-Simpson scale, “category 6” would begin at 158 knots, which would be 181.8 miles per hour. Since Irma has surpassed that mark, I believe that it is entirely reasonable if people want to refer to it as a “category 6” storm.

Of course some meteorologists will get very heated with you when you use the term “category 6” because no such category exists at this point.

But we need some way to describe an Atlantic hurricane with sustained winds of 185 miles per hour. “Category 5” simply does not do such a storm justice, and yes, Hurricane Irma is the type of storm that could wipe entire cities off the map if it came ashore at this power.

We don’t know where this immensely powerful storm will make landfall in the U.S. yet, but you don’t want to be there when it does. I don’t want to freak people out, but the truth is that the best thing you can do is to get as far away from this storm as you can.

Just remember what happened in Houston. The people were told not to evacuate, and that turned out to be an absolutely disastrous decision.

This is not just another storm. This is a history making event, and if Irma slams directly into one of our major cities as a category 5 storm, it could potentially make Hurricane Harvey look like a Sunday picnic. The following are some of the key things that you need to know about Hurricane Irma…

#1 According to the Miami Herald, Hurricane Irma had sustained winds of 185 miles per hour on Tuesday afternoon…

Irma continued to explode into a powerful storm Tuesday afternoon, with winds increasing to 185 mph, National Hurricane Center forecasters said in a 2 p.m. advisory.

As the storm continued to track westward, islands in its path raced to complete last minute preparations. The Leeward Islands are expected to get hit with “catastrophic” winds tonight, forecasters said, with the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico slammed tomorrow. In Puerto Rico, the governor asked President Donald Trump to declare a state of emergency, while the electric company warned Irma’s fierce winds could leave the island without power for four to six months.

#2 The NOAA is saying that Irma is “the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic — outside the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico.”

#3 As mentioned above, if you extrapolate the Saffir-Simpson scale, Irma could be considered a category 6 storm…

While few are willing to admit it yet, according to meteorologist Ryan Maye, Hurricane Irma is still intensifying, with winds up to 155-knots (180 mph) and that extrapolating Saffir-Simpson scale, 158-knots would be Category 6.

Yes, I know that a “category 6” does not exist yet, but perhaps it is about time that scientists got together and updated the scale in light of the dangerous new realities that we are now facing.

#4 Hurricane Irma is so enormously powerful that it is even “showing up on seismometers”…

Hurricane Irma is so strong it’s showing up on seismometers — equipment designed to measure earthquakes.

“What we’re seeing in the seismogram are low-pitched hums that gradually become stronger as the hurricane gets closer to the seismometer on the island of Guadeloupe,” said Stephen Hicks, a seismologist at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom.

#5 In all of U.S. history, only three category 5 hurricanes have ever hit the United States – an unnamed storm in 1935, Hurricane Camille in 1969, and Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

#6 A state of emergency has already been declared for every single county in the state of Florida.

#7 If you are in the “danger zone” and you have not already stockpiled food, water and supplies, it is probably already too late. Reports of “panic prepping” are coming in from all over Florida, and down in Puerto Rico many stores are already out of all the most important supplies…

On Tuesday, the lines for fast-dwindling gas, food, water and hardware were interminable and anxiety mounted. One hardware store in San Juan had been nearly picked clean by afternoon.

“This has been like this for the last three days,” said Juan Carlos Ramirez, the store manager. “We’ve sold all of the most necessary items — flashlight, batteries, plywood.”

One of my readers made the point the other day that this isn’t the kind of storm that you can “prepare” for.

And my reader was precisely correct. You can’t “get prepared” for a hurricane with sustained winds of 185 miles per hour. Such a storm will snap homes like toothpicks.

If I was in Florida, I would be heading north immediately. Those that wait could find themselves in absolutely nightmarish traffic jams.

And if I lived on the Gulf coast, I would be watching this storm very, very carefully.

Because the waters in the Gulf of Mexico are so warm, there is the possibility that Irma could get even stronger if it slides to the south of Florida.

Let us hope that it does not happen, but a scenario in which Irma makes landfall along the Gulf coast as a category 5 storm would probably be the worst of all potential possibilities.

If such a scenario plays out, please get out of the path of this storm. Trying to “ride this storm out” would do you no good whatsoever.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160678
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I'm hoping this is a typo, but the electric company is warning that Puerto Rice could be without electrical power for four to six months . Noe if the electrical company in Puerto Rico had some free market competition...

Onward and upward,
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Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160679
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Report: Hurricane Irma damage considerable

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-41172726

Barbuda “Totally Demolished” After Hurricane Irma Levels 90% Of All Dwellings

Steve Watson | Infowars.com - September 7, 2017

Zero Hedge
Sept 7, 2017

Having mauled the Caribbean island of St. Martin overnight, where this morning the French government said that the four “most solid” buildings have been destroyed, Hurricane Irma – now at 185mps for a record 33 straight hours – has just passed north of Puerto Rico, buffeting the US island territory’s capital, San Juan, with heavy downpours and strong winds that scattered tree limbs across roadways, but not before “totally demolishing” the island of Barbuda, with 90% of all dwellings leveled, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said.

Images show Irma damage in Barbuda; officials say destruction could be "upwards of 90%" https://t.co/5WpCIuCk4d https://t.co/GBjTj9ZeXz

— CNN (@CNN) September 6, 2017

Browne said that Irma has unleashed “absolute devastation” on the island making Barbuda, home to some 1,800 people, “basically uninhabitable” with preliminary damage estimated at some $150 million.

Antigua & Barbuda's Prime Minister: "The way it stands now, #Barbuda is basically uninhabitable."

Photos: ABS Television/Radio. pic.twitter.com/SxJDknTvy3

— TTWeatherCenter (@TTWeatherCenter) September 6, 2017

He said that the island’s communication network is 100% destroyed.

First images out of Barbuda from a Facebook broadcast live by ABS Radio & TV.

Widespread destruction has occurred on the island. pic.twitter.com/0MGShjxuU8

— TTWeatherCenter (@TTWeatherCenter) September 6, 2017

Antigua & Barbuda's PM Browne: "#Barbuda's communication network is 100% destroyed"

Photo: ABS Television/Radio pic.twitter.com/FXlYRaP08t

— TTWeatherCenter (@TTWeatherCenter) September 6, 2017

Unbelievable. #Irma has snapped all the cell towers on #Barbuda. That's reinforced steel – photo: ABS pic.twitter.com/NF5v698XJa

— Jonny Hallam (@Jonny_Hallam) September 6, 2017

A before and after photo confirms the devastation:

Jost Van Dyke #BVI

Before and after #Irma pic.twitter.com/HExX6TFhb9

— John Morales (@JohnMoralesNBC6) September 6, 2017

“This rebuilding initiative will take years,” Browne told local television after a visit to the island, where he confirmed at least one person had died due to the storm. A second storm-related fatality, that of a surfer, was reported on Barbados and the French government said at least two people were killed in Caribbean island territories of St. Martin and Saint Barthelemy.

Irma, with top sustained winds of 185 miles per hour (300 km per hour), was on track to reach Florida on Saturday or Sunday, becoming the second major hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland in as many weeks.

While Irma’s intensity could fluctuate, and its precise course remained uncertain, the storm was expected to remain at least a Category 4 before arriving in Florida.

Irma is not alone, and as reported earlier, two other hurricanes formed on Wednesday. While Katia, in the Gulf of Mexico, poses no threat to the U.S. Hurricane Jose in the open Atlantic, about 1,000 miles (1,610 km) east of the Caribbean’s Lesser Antilles islands, could also eventually threaten the U.S. mainland, a third hurricane landfall on the U.S. in under a month.

According to Reuters, Florida emergency management officials, chastened by Harvey’s devastation, began evacuations days in advance of Irma’s arrival, ordering all tourists to leave the Florida Keys, a resort archipelago off the state’s southern tip, starting Wednesday morning. Evacuation of residents from the Keys was to begin Wednesday evening.

Ed Rappaport, acting National Hurricane Center director, interviewed on Miami television station WFOR-TV, called Irma a “once-in-a-generation storm,” adding that for Florida, “It’s the big one for us.”

Chuck Watson, disaster modeler with Enki Research, said in a note that “Irma is the kind of storm where you get thousands of lives lost. This is not going to be the big slow-motion flood like Harvey – this is a real, honest-to-God hurricane.”

Late on Wednesday, the eye of Irma passed just north of Puerto Rico.

You can use of #radar spectrum width to show dev. of #Irma's secondary #eyewall b/c it depicts areas of strong boundary layer turbulence. pic.twitter.com/FwlKnEQshK

— Philippe Papin (@pppapin) September 6, 2017

“The winds that we are experiencing right now are like nothing we have experienced before,” Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello told CNN. “We expect a lot of damage, perhaps not as much as was seen in Barbuda.”

At least half of Puerto Rico’s homes and businesses lost electricity by nightfall, according to a Twitter message posted by an island utility executive. According to the Miami Herald, Puerto Rico residents could be left without power for four to six months after Hurricane Irma grazes the island.

“There are going to be blackouts. Areas that will spend three, four months without electricity,” Ricardo Ramos, executive director of Puerto Rico’s energy agency, said, according to the Spanish-language news agency EFE.

On its current path the core of Irma, which the Miami-based center said marked the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, was expected to scrape the northern coast of the Dominican Republic on Thursday. It was on a track that would put it near the Turks and Caicos and southeastern Bahamas by Thursday evening.

Trump, whose waterfront Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, could take a direct hit from the storm, has already approved emergency declarations for Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, mobilizing federal disaster relief efforts. He spoke with governors of all three by telephone on Wednesday, the White House said.

Florida Governor Rick Scott said Irma could be more devastating than Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 storm that struck the state in 1992 and still ranks as one of the costliest ever in the United States.

Residents in most coastal communities of densely populated Miami-Dade County were ordered to move to higher ground beginning at 9 a.m. ET (1300 GMT) on Thursday, Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced on Wednesday. The evacuation orders will affect more than 100,000 residents, the Miami Herald reported. Miami-Dade has a population of 2.7 million.

#Hurricane watches could be issued for portions of the Florida Keys and the Florida peninsula on Thursday. https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb #Irma pic.twitter.com/j9KhJVOJHY

— NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) September 7, 2017

Scott told a news conference in the Keys that 7,000 National Guard troops would report for duty on Friday, ahead of the storm’s expected arrival. Statewide emergency declarations were issued in both North and South Carolina, and Georgia Governor Nathan Deal declared an emergency for six coastal counties in anticipation of Irma’s arrival.

Hurricane Irma has destroyed the Princess Juliana International Airport as it barreled through St. Martin. https://youtu.be/dA5qYrboTUE

Hurricane Irma AFTERMATH!! (Anguilla/St.Maarten/St.Martin) https://youtu.be/M-WDrsX-OTc

Hurricane IRMA DESTROYING St Maarten,St Martin Horrific WINDS Speeds 180 mph to 200 Mph
https://youtu.be/aQ99NFwYHws

Barbuda - Survivors tell Irma Story https://youtu.be/l-2KhmOCtvg


Hurricane Irma toll hits 10, increasing threat for Florida

By DANICA COTO and ANIKA KENTISH

https://apnews.co/77a9a82f58d04bdbb122832b297b199d

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Fearsome Hurricane Irma cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean, leaving at least 10 dead and thousands homeless after destroying buildings and uprooting trees on a track Thursday that could lead to a catastrophic strike on Florida. The most potent Atlantic Ocean hurricane ever, Irma weakened only slightly Thursday morning and remained a powerful Category 5 storm with winds of 180 mph (285 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. The storm was increasingly likely to rip into heavily populated South Florida early Sunday, prompting the governor to declare an emergency and officials to impose mandatory evacuation orders for parts of the Miami metro area and the Florida Keys. Forecasters said it could punish the entire Atlantic coast of Florida and rage on into Georgia and South Carolina.

“This could easily be the most costly storm in U.S. history, which is saying a lot considering what just happened two weeks ago,” said Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami, alluding to the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told France Info radio that eight had died and 23 injured in the country’s Caribbean island territories, and he said the toll on Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthelemy could be higher because rescue teams have yet to finish their inspection of the islands.

“The reconnaissance will really start at daybreak,” Collomb said.

At a news conference, Collomb also said 100,000 food rations have been sent to the islands, the equivalent of four days of supplies.

“It’s a tragedy, we’ll need to rebuild both islands,” he said. “Most of the schools have been destroyed.”

French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said he will go to the islands has soon as weather conditions permit. Macron said France is “grief-stricken” by the devastation caused by Irma and called for concerted efforts to tackle global warming and climate change to prevent similar future natural disasters.

In the United Kingdom, the government said Irma inflicted “severe and in places critical” damage to the British overseas territory of Anguilla. Foreign Office Minister Alan Duncan said the Caribbean island took the full force of the hurricane. He told lawmakers on Thursday that the British Virgin islands have also suffered “severe damage.”

Irma blacked out much of Puerto Rico, raking the U.S. territory with heavy wind and rain while staying just out to sea, and it headed early Thursday toward the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

To the east, authorities struggled to get aid to small Caribbean islands devastated by the storm’s record 185 mph (298 kph) winds. Communications were difficult with areas hit by Irma, and information on damage trickled out.

Nearly every building on Barbuda was damaged when the hurricane’s core crossed almost directly over the island early Wednesday and about 60 percent of its roughly 1,400 residents were left homeless, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne told The Associated Press.

“It is just really a horrendous situation,” Browne said after returning to Antigua from a plane trip to the neighboring island.

He said roads and telecommunications systems were wrecked and recovery would take months, if not years. A 2-year-old child was killed as a family tried to escape a damaged home during the storm, Browne told the AP.

One death also was reported in the nearby island of Anguilla, where officials reported extensive damage to the airport, hospitals, shelters and school and said 90 percent of roads are impassible, according to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.

The agency also reported “major damage” to houses and commercial buildings in the British Virgin Islands.

On St. Thomas in the nearby U.S. Virgin Islands, Laura Strickling spent 12 hours hunkered down with her husband and 1-year-old daughter in a boarded-up basement apartment with no power as the storm raged outside. They emerged to find the lush island in tatters. Many of their neighbors’ homes were damaged and once-dense vegetation was largely gone.

“There are no leaves. It is crazy. One of the things we loved about St. Thomas is that it was so green. And it’s gone,” Strickling said. “It will take years for this community to get back on its feet.”

Significant damage was also reported on St. Martin, an island split between French and Dutch control. Photos and video circulating on social media showed major damage to the airport in Philipsburg and the coastal village of Marigot heavily flooded. France sent emergency food and water there and to the French island of St. Bart’s, where Irma ripped off roofs and knocked out electricity.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Thursday the storm “caused widescale destruction of infrastructure, houses and businesses.”

“There is no power, no gasoline, no running water. Houses are under water, cars are floating through the streets, inhabitants are sitting in the dark, in ruined houses and are cut off from the outside world,” he said.

By Thursday morning, the center of the storm was about 110 miles (180 kilometers) north of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and was moving west-northwest near 17 mph (28 kph).

More than half the island of Puerto Rico was without power, leaving 900,000 in the dark and nearly 50,000 without water, the U.S. territory’s emergency management agency said in the midst of the storm. Fourteen hospitals were using generators after losing power, and trees and light poles were strewn across roads.

Puerto Rico’s public power company warned before the storm hit that some areas could be left without power from four to six months because its staff has been reduced and its infrastructure weakened by the island’s decade-long economic slump.

President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies to remove debris and give other services that will largely be paid for by the U.S. government.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160680
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Friends told to evac to Orlando, was told last night to go to at least Atlanta! They were given 'military gas' at the old Navy installation at Orlando to help them along.

Planes have already been flown out of ALL the military bases in Florida. MacDill AFB, Tampa. Jacksonville NAS, Jacksonville. Most are at either Eglin AFB, Fort Walton and Pensacola NAS, Pensacola for now.

Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160681
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The latest models have the storm shifting further west, tracking to the west of Miami now. This is not good news. It's still too early to know the exact track, but it's not looking good.

Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160682
09/07/2017 12:06 PM
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Unless Irma changes track drastically, it will come right over top of my A/O around Mon night.

Savanna GA has just declared a mandatory evacuation.

BTW: Hawk, I know the old Orlando Navy base well. Spent a lot of time there back in the mid 60's.

Two South Florida nuclear power plants lie in Irma’s path. Are they ready?


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160683
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“Greatest Evacuation In History” – 650,000 Ordered To Leave Florida A “traffic nightmare” as Cat-5 Hurricane Irma bears down

In what spokesman Michael Hernandez describes as “the biggest evacuation in history,” Miami-Dade has expanded its mandatory evacuations orders to Zone C, forcing over 650,000 to leave Florida in a “traffic nightmare” as Cat-5 Hurricane Irma bears down.

An earlier order included just Miami Beach, other low-lying and barrier island areas and all mobile-home residents, but as the storm grew in intensity and the cone of uncertainty narrowed, County Mayor Carlos Gimenez issued the order this afternoon expanded to Zone C.

The expansion now covers Zone B, which encompasses Brickell, Miami’s downtown area and South-Dade, including parts of Cutler Bay, Florida City and Homestead. Evacuation orders also touch Zone C, which includes parts of Coral Gables, South Miami, Miami Shores and North Miami Beach.

More than 650,000 residents are reportedly subject to the mandatory evacuation order – that’s up from the 200,000 who were asked to leave to areas outside of evacuation Zones A and B, Wednesday.

[Linked Image]

Downtown Miami is described as “a ghost town”...

Miami looks like a Ghost Town due to Evacuation in anticipation of Hurricane Irma #HurricaneIrma #Evacuation #Miami pic.twitter.com/YFFxz8WY0l

— Victoire Cogevina (@vhcogevina) September 7, 2017

As the mass exodus begins…

Lines at gas stations were evident everywhere…

Lines for gas in Miami #HurricaineIrma @David_Culver @News4Today pic.twitter.com/A3ZRRDiRer

— Brittany Roembach (@Broembach) September 7, 2017

“There was no gas and it’s gridlock. People are stranded on the sides of the highway,” she said.

“It’s 92 degrees out and little kids are out on the grass on the side of the road. No one can help them.”

Irma’s eventual path and Florida’s fate depends on when and how sharp the powerful hurricane takes a right turn, National Weather Service Director Louis Uccellini said.

“It has become more likely that Irma will make landfall in southern Florida as a dangerous major hurricane,” the Hurricane Center said in a forecast discussion Thursday afternoon.

The last Category 5 storm to hit Florida was Andrew in 1992. Its winds topped 165 mph (265 kph), killing 65 people and inflicting $26 billion in damage. It was at the time the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history.

U.S. Air Force Reserve weather officer Maj. Jeremy DeHart flew through the eye of Irma at 10,000 feet Wednesday and through Hurricane Harvey just before it hit Texas last month.

He said Irma’s intensity set it apart from other storms.

“Spectacular is the word that keeps coming to mind. Pictures don’t do it justice. Satellite images can’t do it justice,” DeHart said.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160684
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And on the political front, the Senate has blocked Rand Paul\'s...n dictators to hurricane victims instead . Because we have our priorities, obviously.

Quote
As estimates to fix the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey reach over $100 billion, the U.S. Congress has pushed for a bill that would raise the national debt in order to pay for it. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul suggested a different solution—why not make cuts to foreign aid in order to help Americans in need?

“In Washington, we have a disease—or a syndrome, rather. I call it the ‘dinosaur syndrome,’ big hearts, small brains. Unfortunately, it’s a reoccurring problem. Year after year, bill after bill, day after day,” Paul said during a speech on the Senate floor. “In Washington, it is argued that you are more compassionate if you give away more of someone else’s money. I would argue that true compassion is in giving your own money away. I would argue that truly rational policy is giving away money that you have. So it’s one thing to give away other people’s money, it’s another thing to give away money that you don’t even possess.”

According to estimates from three independent groups who specialize in disaster relief and risk management, the cost of Hurricane Harvey “ranged from $70 billion to $108 billion,” meaning that the storm has arguably done more damage than any natural disaster in the United States, since at least 1980.

Paul noted that while the price tag of repairs for Harvey may be large, the national debt is even larger, and increasing the debt to pay for this storm makes no sense when the U.S. has the option of making cuts within its current budget....
Onward and upward,
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Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160685
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Those needing actual 'relief' do NOT contribute to political campaigns like third world dictators and politicians do.

I know that Trump contributed 1 million to Texas relief. Anybody hear if the Klinton Charity gave anything at all?

Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160686
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Military gears up to respond to Hurricane Irma devastation

By Ellen Mitchell - 09/08/17

Military branches are laying the groundwork to respond to Hurricane Irma, deploying ships, personnel and equipment to Florida and United States territories in the Caribbean to respond to a storm that has already wreaked devastation on several islands.

So far, the Pentagon has sent six ships, an aircraft carrier, numerous aircraft and thousands of gallons of fuel to the region, as well as activated thousands of National Guard troops in Florida and Puerto Rico.

The Category 4 storm, one of the strongest hurricanes ever reported in the Atlantic, made its first landfall on the island of Barbuda as a Category 5 hurricane on Wednesday and is expected to hit Florida Saturday night.

Officials predict Irma will bring heavy rains and possible 12-foot storm surges in some parts of Florida, requiring military ships, aircraft and thousands of troops to help in evacuation, rescue and response efforts.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) activated the Florida National Guard on Tuesday in anticipation of the hurricane. About 4,000 troops were activated on Friday, and Scott said he expected the entire force of more than 8,000 would eventually be called into duty.

Puerto Rico, meanwhile, activated its 5,200 National Guard troops, while the U.S. Virgin Islands activated its nearly 700-member unit, according to the Pentagon. The Coast Guard will also help with efforts.

The scramble to move military equipment and troops ahead of Irma calls into question whether forces can adequately respond so quickly after Hurricane Harvey devastated parts of Texas and Louisiana late last month.

Texas Gov. Scott Abbott (R) activated the entire Texas National Guard to respond Harvey, with out-of-state guards units and the Coast Guard also stepping in.

President Trump’s homeland security adviser Tom Bossert said Friday he had spoken to Pentagon and State Department officials and insisted they were prepared to tackle Irma response efforts quickly.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Coast Guard and National Guard are “all rested and re-fit and ready to come back into the fight,” Bossert said at the daily White House press briefing.

Trump himself stressed that the U.S. was prepared for the storm.

“We are very well covered from the standpoint of bravery and talent. We have tremendous people there representing us from the Coast Guard to FEMA to everyone else,” Trump said Thursday at the White House.

He warned, however, that forecasts for Irma “are not looking particularly good for Florida.”

“We don't think we've seen anything quite like this. Some of the winds have gotten up to close to 200 miles an hour,” he said.

The Pentagon has been preparing for Irma for several days now, sending Navy amphibious assault ships and Marine helicopters to the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier this week to transport people and supplies.

The USS Oak Hill and the USS Kearsarge, ships originally deployed with Marines aboard to respond to Harvey in Texas, were redirected to the Caribbean.

The two ships “are approaching the disaster area and will be postured north of St. Croix and ready to provide assistance to FEMA,” U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) said in a statement Friday

“These ships are capable of providing medical support, maritime civil affairs, maritime security, expeditionary logistic support, medium and heavy lift air support, and bring a diverse capability including assessment, security, route clearance and water purification,” the Northern Command noted in a statement Thursday.

The Navy has sent the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, transport dock ship USS New York, guided missile destroyer USS Farragut, as well as hundreds more Marines to the islands.

The Defense Department "is responding to catastrophic levels of destruction throughout the Leeward Islands, including St. Thomas and St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Jamie Davis said in a statement late Friday afternoon.

And the Coast Guard began transferring helicopters from Harvey response efforts to Florida and Puerto Rico last week.

Recovery efforts were underway on Friday in Puerto Rico, where more than 1 million people and half the island’s hospitals were left without electricity after the storm brushed by the territory.

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, the USS Wasp was “conducting medical evacuations for critical care patients from St. Thomas to St. Croix and performing damage assessments,” according to NORTHCOM.

As of Friday, there were six search and rescue missions. Twenty-one patients were evacuated, with another 23 planned for evacuation.

In addition, NORTHCOM established logistics bases in Alabama, North Carolina, New Jersey, Virginia and Georgia.

Military preparation efforts also included moving equipment away from the storm’s wrath. The Air Force moved 50 F-16 Fighting Falcons and 100 personnel from Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina to a base in Louisiana, and numerous KC-135 tankers and F-15 Eagles from bases in Florida, Military.com reported.

"Preliminary FEMA property damage assessments describe 'massive devastation,' including 'complete power/communications collapse' " in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Davis said.

The National Guard Bureau is expecting a request from Scott for an additional 20,000 troops, Davis said.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160687
09/09/2017 07:27 AM
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From Rep. Thomas Massie:

Quote
Senator Rand Paul offered to transfer money from foreign aid to pay for the Harvey disaster relief package. I proposed the same idea in the House, but the rules prevented me from getting a vote on an amendment. Senator Paul was able to get a vote on his amendment but sadly it failed in the Senate. Do you agree that instead of adding to our debt, we should use money that was earmarked for foreign aid, to pay for disaster relief funding? I can't in good conscience saddle our children with more debt... they will have to pay for their own weather disasters and shouldn't have to pay for ours as well.
Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160688
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'Reasonable worst case scenario' shows half of Key West underwater due to Irma

by Daniel Chaitin | Sep 9, 2017

A "reasonable worst case scenario" forecast shows half of Key West underwater due to storm surge, according to a Weather Channel meteorologist.

Hurricane Irma, a Category 3 storm as of 11 a.m., is predicted to turn away from Cuba and make landfall in the Sunshine State by Sunday morning. Forecasters say the eye is expected to make landfall in Key West. Officials and forecasters have warned of the dangers of "life-threatening" storm surge associated with the storm.

"A reasonable worst case scenario has over half of Key West underwater due to storm surge," said Weather Channel meteorologist and weather producer Greg Diamond in a tweet that was retweeted by the National Weather Service Key West. "This is why @NWSKeyWest is saying to get out #irma."

The graphic he shares shows large swaths of Key West under 1 to 3 feet of water. Key West sits at the end of a string of islands, or "Keys," extending from the southern tip of the Florida peninsula. The National Weather Service predicts up to 5 to 10 feet of storm surge in the low-lying Florida Keys.

A reasonable worst case scenario has over half of Key West underwater due to storm surgeThis is why @NWSKeyWest is saying to get out #irma pic.twitter.com/2xfv0anPsY— Greg Diamond (@gdimeweather) September 9, 2017

The outer bands of the storm are already lashing out at the Keys.

Update: tree damage already on FL Keys from initial outer bands of Hurricane #Irma still well to the southwest @breakingweather pic.twitter.com/9G7zHYlz6w— Reed Timmer (@ReedTimmerAccu) September 9, 2017

Even before the eye was predicted to be making heading towards the area – the most dangerous part of the storm is near the eye, where the most intense winds are usually found – the National Weather Service issued a stern message Friday afternoon to Key West residents that with the coming of Hurricane Irma they need to evacuate because "this is as real as it gets."

"Nowhere in the Florida Keys will be safe," the NWS Key West account said in a tweet in all caps. "You still have time to evacuate."

With more than 20 people killed in connection to the storm in the Caribbean, Florida Gov. Rick Scott warned residents not to take a risk if they have been ordered to evacuate.

"If you've been ordered to evacuate, you need to leave now," Scott said in a press conference Saturday morning. "Do not wait. Evacuate. Not tonight. Not in an hour. You need to go right now."

1140AM: Eye of #Irma as seen from our radar. Bands of storms across #FLKeys now can produce near Hurricane force gusts. Expect to cont today pic.twitter.com/Etw9c7eyxu— NWS Key West (@NWSKeyWest) September 9, 2017

He also cautioned of the often underestimated threat of storm surge, which could reach 6 to 12 feet in some places.

"You will not survive all of the storm surge," he said. "This is a life-threatening situation."


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160689
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"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160690
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I keep wondering how much they have to pay those reporters to stand outside in a hurricane. Seriously, that's a dumb thing to do. One little piece of flying debris could ruin someone's whole day.

Onward and upward,
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The wife and I were just discussing the same thing. I rode out a hurricane in Orlando many years ago. You do not want to be standing outside when it passes overhead. Imagine a tornado that lasts for several hours.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
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Currently:
Irma now category 2.

Now 3.3 million homes without power. Officials advise people to prepare for power to be out for 7 days.

Large scale power outages also expected in Georgia.

39% of Fla gas stations are OUT. 64% out in southern part of the state.

14% of gas stations in Georgia reporting that they are out.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: Hurricane Irma to be 'extremely dangerous' #160693
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Nearly half of Florida in the dark, Tampa takes pounding

[Linked Image]

September 11, 2017
Fox News

Irma weakened to a Category 1 storm as the massive hurricane zeroed in on the Tampa Bay region early Monday after hammering much of Florida with roof-ripping winds, gushing floodwaters and widespread power outages.

The hurricane's maximum sustained winds weakened to 85 mph with additional weakening expected. As of 2 a.m. EDT, the storm was centered about 25 miles northeast of Tampa and moving north-northwest near 15 mph.

Irma continues its slog north along Florida's western coast having blazed a path of unknown destruction. With communication cut to some of the Florida Keys, where Irma made landfall Sunday, and rough conditions persisting across the peninsula, many are holding their breath for what daylight might reveal.

Forecasters say they expert Irma's center to stay inland over Florida and then move into Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.

They also expect Irma to weaken further into a tropical storm over far northern Florida or southern Georgia on Monday as it speeds up its forward motion. The hurricane center says the storm is still life-threatening with dangerous storm surge, wind and heavy rains.

More than 3.3 million homes and businesses -- and counting -- have lost power in Florida as Hurricane Irma moves up the peninsula.

The widespread outages stretch from the Florida Keys all the way into central Florida.

Florida Power & Light, the state's largest electric utility, said there were nearly 1 million customers without power in Miami-Dade County alone.

The power outages are expected to increase as the storm edges further north.

There are roughly 7 million residential customers in the state.

The county administrator in the Florida Keys says crews will begin house to house searches Monday morning, looking for people who need help and assessing damage from Hurricane Irma.

Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi says relief will arrive on a C-130 military plane Monday morning at the Key West International Airport.

Once it's light out, they'll check on survivors. They suspect they may find fatalities.

Gastesi says they are "prepared for the worst."

Hurricane Irma made landfall Sunday morning in Cudjoe Key.

But The Associated Press has been texting with John Huston, who has been riding out the storm in his house on Key Largo, on the Atlantic side of the island, just south of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.

Every few minutes during the height of the storm, he sent another dispatch.

He described whiteout conditions, with howling winds that sucked dry the gulf side of the narrow island, where the tide is usually 8 feet deep. He kept his humor though, texting to "send cold beer" at one point. Now he sees furniture floating down the street with small boats.

He says the storm surge was at least 6 feet deep on his island, 76 miles from Irma's eye. He can see now that structures survived, but the storm left a big mess at ground level.

Irma set all sorts of records for brute strength before crashing into Florida, flattening islands in the Caribbean and swamping the Florida Keys.

It finally hit the mainland as a big wide beast, but not quite as monstrous as once feared. The once-Category 5 storm lost some of its power on the northern Cuba coast.

The Associated Press contributed to this report


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
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Jacksonville Fla experiencing "unprecedented" flooding due to St.John's river coming out of banks.

Orlando has "significant" flooding.

Every major city in Fla effected.

Reports now indicate that 7.6 million without power. Will take weeks to restore in some areas.

Thousands in GA,SC and NC have also lost power.

Some area have no cell service.

Keys cut off...NO power or water. Widespread devastation. Only highway blocked. S&R operations ongoing.

6 million Floridians evacuated...over 200,000 in shelters.

Savannah GA and Charleston SC experiencing high winds and flooding from the storm.

At least 38 dead in the Caribbean, 5 in Fla and 2 in GA.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861

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