It’s being called the largest storm on record, and the destruction so far over the Caribbean islands is proof in the pudding.
Hurricane Irma continued to demonstrate windspeeds off the charts and Haiti, Puerto Rico and other area islands are being devastated.
Most hurricanes quickly lose energy as they hit land, but Irma is so large that landfall isn’t doing much to slow it down.
And when it reaches the warm, shallow waters off the southern Florida coast, it likely will reenergize and gain more speed.
That’s probably why Florida Gov. Rick Scott just ordered citizens to get the heck out of dodge or stay at your own risk.
His warning was dire: “If you stay, we cannot save you.”
And now gasoline is completely gone in many cities and highways are clogged with residents pouring out of the state ahead of landfall, which is estimated to be late Saturday or early Sunday.
Here’s more from Redstate…
Hurricane Irma is barreling towards southern Florida, with weather experts describing her as a “major, dangerous” storm. Irma is expected to make landfall near Miami as a Category 5 or strong Category 4 hurricane, having only slowed down marginally since tearing through Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands.
Fox News reports that at least 500,000 residents of southern Florida have been evacuated, and Gov. Rick Scott today told those in evacuation zones to leave their homes. He warned:
“Do not try to ride out this storm … we can’t save you once the storm hits.”
Irma has already left a path of destruction in her wake. Reports out of Puerto Rico are that 1 million people are without power, and the tiny island of Barbuda is said to be in shambles. Billionaire Richard Branson, who rode out the hurricane on his private island in the British Virgin Islands, said the area has been “utterly devastated.”
As if Irma weren’t enough to deal with, two other hurricanes have developed in the Atlantic basin. Hurricane Jose, who is taking a similar path to Irma, was upgraded earlier this evening to a Category 3. Jose is not expected to make landfall, but islands decimated by Irma are likely to feel his wrath nonetheless.
