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Hurricane Irma Barrels Toward Miami As Residents Scramble To Evacuate

After laying waste to much of the Leeward Islands and leaving most of Puerto Rico without power, Hurricane Irma is continuing its destructive march through the Caribbean which is expected to culminate with landfall in Miami sometime this weekend.

 

As we noted yesterday, Irma's catastrophic 185+ mph winds left 90% of the dwellings on the island of Barbuda completely leveled, according to Prime Minister Gaston Browne.

 

Unfortunately, Irma's power isn't expected to subside all that much as it moves over several Caribbean islands over the next couple of days before ending up in Southern Florida.  Here is the latest from the National Hurricane Center:

Maximum sustained winds remain near 180 mph (285 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.

 

FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS

  • INIT  07/0900Z 20.0N  68.3W  155 KT 180 MPH
  • 12H  07/1800Z 20.7N  70.5W  150 KT 175 MPH
  • 24H  08/0600Z 21.7N  73.1W  145 KT 165 MPH
  • 36H  08/1800Z 22.3N  75.5W  140 KT 160 MPH
  • 48H  09/0600Z 22.8N  77.4W  135 KT 155 MPH
  • 72H  10/0600Z 24.5N  80.0W  130 KT 150 MPH
  • 96H  11/0600Z 28.5N  80.5W  105 KT 120 MPH
  • 120H  12/0600Z 33.0N  81.0W   75 KT  85 MPH...INLAND

 

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).

 

STORM SURGE:  The combination of a life-threatening storm surge and large breaking waves will raise water levels ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS by the following amounts within the hurricane warning area near and to the north of the center of Irma.  Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves.

  • Turks and Caicos Islands...15 to 20 ft
  • Southeastern and central Bahamas...15 to 20 ft
  • Northwestern Bahamas...4 to 7 ft
  • Northern coast of the Dominican Republic...3 to 5 ft
  • Northern coast of Haiti and the Gulf of Gonave...1 to 3 ft
  • Northern coast of Cuba in the warning area...5 to 10 ft

 

RAINFALL: Irma is expected to produce the following rain accumulations through Saturday:

  • Northeast Puerto Rico and the British and U.S. Virgin Islands...An additional 2 to 4 inches.
  • Much of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos...8 to 12 inches, isolated 20 inches.
  • Northern Dominican Republic and northern Haiti...4 to 10 inches, isolated 15 inches.
  • Eastern and Central Cuba...4 to 10 inches, isolated 15 inches.
  • Southern Haiti...1 to 4 inches.

Meanwhile, Miami looks increasingly likely to take a direct hit from a massive hurricane packing sustained winds of 150-155 mph.

 

As we noted yesterday, more than 100,000 Miami-Dade residents have been instructed to leave their homes on barrier islands, including Miami Beach, and in low-lying mainland areas starting Thursday morning which has created a logistics nightmare at Florida's airports and on highway evacuation routes. 

According to the Washington Post, airlines added flights earlier this week to accommodate a surge in demand but many have been canceled and airports have warned that operations will be halted once winds exceed 55 mph.

To accommodate surging demand of people trying to flee, airlines including American and Delta added flights or brought in larger planes and waived change fees for passengers who need to cancel or rebook their flights.

 

Even so, hundreds of flights were canceled Wednesday, and airlines strongly advised passengers to check before leaving for the airport.

 

Late Wednesday, American Airlines announced it would begin winding down its operations in Florida and had canceled flights at its Miami hub as well as to airports in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Sarasota and West Palm Beach. In addition, it canceled a handful of international flights from Europe and South American that were scheduled to land in Miami on Friday.

 

Officials at Key West International Airport said they would suspend commercial operations at the end of the day Thursday, and Miami International Airport advised travelers it will halt operations at the airport when winds reach 55 mph. Generally, airlines do not operate in sustained crosswinds that exceed 35 mph, and the Federal Aviation Administration tower ceases operations after winds of 55 mph, the airport noted.

Of course, the added flights didn't stop Delta from taking advantage of the surge in demand from frightened travelers.

 

Meanwhile, as the Wall Street Journal points out, those looking to flee by car are facing similar hassles with long lines at gas stations...

 

...at least at the ones that have any gas left to sell.

And, of course, panic hoarding has already left store shelves empty across much of Florida.

 

But, at least this will all be positive for Ford and GM...

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Weather
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Miami
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