Written by Jason Samenow, Greg Porter
(WASHINGTON POST)
Extremely dangerous Hurricane Irma first crashed into the Florida Keys on Sunday morning and then made a second landfall on Marco Island on Florida's west coast Sunday afternoon, unleashing violent wind gusts up to 142 mph and storm-surge flooding. As the powerful storm scoots up Florida's west coast into this evening, forecasters fear that this storm will go down as one of the worst in the state's history.
At 9 p.m., the storm was centered 35 miles east-northeast of Fort Myers. Its eyewall – containing the storm's most violent winds – had pushed northwest of Port Charlotte. The storm center was headed north at 14 mph toward the west side of Sarasota and Tampa, where wind gusts of 75 to 100 mph were possible through around midnight, south to north.
Ocean levels were rising quickly in Southwest Florida as the storm center lifted north. In Naples, the storm surge raised water levels 8 feet in two hours, between about 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. before stabilizing by around 8 p.m. But waters were just starting to rise or had yet to begin their rapid rise from Ft. Myers northward.
Irma's peak winds of 105 mph, with higher gusts, had dropped 20 mph from the morning, making it a Category 2 hurricane (down from a Category 4). Even with slow weakening likely to continue as the storm passes over land, Irma remains very serious and life-threatening. The National Hurricane Center said it is expected to remain a hurricane through Monday morning.
Coastal waters could well above normally dry land along Florida's central Gulf Coast, inundating homes, businesses and roads, an "imminent danger," according to the Hurricane Center.
Because of the storm's magnitude, the entire state of Florida is being severely affected by damaging winds, torrential rains and, in many areas, the risk of tornadoes. Tropical storm and hurricane conditions were also predicted to spread into the Florida Panhandle, eastern Alabama, much of Georgia and southern South Carolina by Monday.
The Latest
Central Florida
Irma's eyewall should pass on the west side of Sarasota between 9:30 and 10:30 p.m. or so and then on the west side of Tampa through around midnight, potentially producing wind gusts between 75 and 100 mph.
Once Irma's center passes north of Sarasota and Tampa Sunday night, the seas will rise resulting in areas of coastal inundation.
On Florida's interior and even the east coast, tropical-storm force winds and hurricane-force gusts were fairly widespread Sunday evening. Orlando clocked a gust to 79 mph and at St. Lucie, on the east coast, a gust reached 99 mph.
Southwest Florida
The worst winds had passed this region just prior to 9:30 p.m. but gusty showers continued on the storm's backside.
Irma's eyewall passed through Fort Myers and Cape Coral just before 7 p.m., producing wind gusts of 88 and 101 mph and then passed on the west side of Port Charlotte between 8 and 9 p.m.
As the eyewall moved over Naples late Sunday afternoon, it reported sustained winds of 93 mph and a gust to 142 mph – the strongest recorded from this storm in the U.S.
Josh Morgerman, a hurricane chaser positioned in Naples, described the scene: "Went thru violent, destructive winds. Screaming, whiteout, wreckage blowing by in fog." Then the calm eye moved overhead.
Before the arrival of the storm center, water was actually retreating from Naples to Tampa due to offshore winds from the east pulling the sea back. But forecasters warned residents that shortly after the storm's center passed to the north and winds blew back onshore, waters would rush back in rapidly causing severe inundation.
In Naples, as of 7 p.m., water levels were about four feet above normally dry land but the level was starting to stabilize around 8 p.m. In Ft. Myers, waters levels were rising at 9 p.m., but not as dramatically as they had in Naples.
Southeast Florida
In Southeast Florida, spiral bands continued to unleash tropical-storm-force winds. Even into the evening, winds were gusting up to 60 to 75 mph around Miami and West Palm Beach (7 p.m. gust of 75 mph), but they weren't as strong as earlier.
In the afternoon, sustained winds in Miami and Fort Lauderdale reached 50-60 mph through the early afternoon, gusting as high as 80 to 100 mph. Miami International Airport clocked a gust to 94 mph and an isolated gust hit 100 mph at the University of Miami.
Also during the afternoon the seas had risen several feet above normally dry land. Social media photos and videos showed water pouring through Miami's streets, in between high-rises, amid sideways sheets of rains.
Late Sunday afternoon, waters were finally starting to slowly recede around Miami.
The Keys
While the core of the storm and worst winds passed the Keys early Sunday morning, the Weather Service warned storm surge flooding was ongoing as winds on the storm's backside shoved water over the islands. Gusts still reached 50 to 60 mph as of 7:45 p.m.
Early Sunday afternoon, the maximum surge at Cudjoe Key was estimated at 10 feet.
Statewide
About 3 million customers were without power.
Particularly in South and Central Florida, torrential rain was falling, with widespread totals of 6 to 10 inches and pockets up to 10 to 14 inches. Numerous flash flood warnings had been issued.
As the storm's spiral bands walloped Central and Northern Florida, the potential for tornadoes arose in the swirling air, and the Weather Service issued watches and scores of warnings.
Storm warnings in effect and predicted surge height and winds
Hurricane warnings cover all of Florida except the western Panhandle, where a tropical storm warning was in effect.
A storm-surge warning was also issued for much of the Florida Peninsula (except for a small section from North Miami Beach to Jupiter Inlet), and even extended up the Georgia coast into southern South Carolina. The Hurricane Center said that this would bring the risk of "dangerous" and "life-threatening" inundation and that the threat was highest along Florida's southwest coast and in the Florida Keys, where it said the surge is expected to be "catastrophic."
(National Weather Service)
Because of the shift in the most likely storm track to the west, Miami and Southeast Florida were most likely to miss the storm's intensely destructive core, known as the eyewall, where winds are strongest. Even so, because of Irma's enormous size, the entire Florida Peninsula and even the Panhandle were likely to witness damaging winds. The National Hurricane Center warned that the storm would bring "life-threatening wind impacts to much of the state."
More info available at :https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/09/10/after-slamming-keys-irma-to-batter-florida-peninsula-catastrophic-storm-surge-feared/
