2 am Thursday: Hurricane Irma Moving Away From Puerto Rico

At 200 AM AST (0600 UTC), the center of Hurricane Irma was located

near latitude 19.7 North, longitude 67.7 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 away from

Puerto Rico this morning, pass just north of the coast of Hispaniola

later today, and be near the Turks and Caicos and southeastern

Bahamas by this evening.


Reports from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate

that maximum sustained winds are now near 180 mph (290 km/h) with

higher gusts.  Irma is a category 5 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 4 or 5 hurricane during the next couple of days.


Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 50 miles (85 km) from

the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185

miles (295 km).

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:


A Hurricane Warning is in effect for...

* Puerto Rico, Vieques, and Culebra

* Dominican Republic from Cabo Engano to the northern border with

Haiti

* Haiti from the northern border with the Dominican Republic to Le

Mole St. Nicholas

* Southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands

* Central Bahamas


A Hurricane Watch is in effect for...

* Cuba from Matanzas province eastward to Guantanamo province

* Northwestern Bahamas


A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for...

* Dominican Republic from south of Cabo Engano westward to the

southern border with Haiti

* Haiti from south of Le Mole St. Nicholas to Port-Au-Prince

* Cuba provinces of Guantanamo, Holguin, and Las Tunas


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