WHCA31 TAPA
HURRICANE IRMA ALERT STATEMENT
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES
11:AM ECT SUN, SEP 3, 2017
THIS IS FOR THE LEEWARD ISLANDS AND BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
…CATEGORY THREE HURRICANE IRMA MOVING WEST-SOUTHWESTWARD… …INTERESTS IN THE LEEWARD ISLANDS SHOULD MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF IRMA…
AT 1100 AM ECT (1500 UTC), THE CENTER OF HURRICANE IRMA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 17.7 NORTH, LONGITUDE 48.4 WEST OR 885 MILES EAST OF THE LEEWARD ISLANDS OR 940 MILES EAST OF ST.KITTS AND NEVIS.
IRMA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-SOUTHWEST NEAR 14 MPH (22 KM/H) AND THIS COURSE AT A SLIGHTLY SLOWER FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT. A TURN TOWARD THE WEST IS FORECAST ON MONDAY.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 115 MPH (185 KM/H) WITH HIGHER GUSTS AND SOME STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS.
HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 25 MILES (35 KM) FROM THE CENTER AND TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 80 MILES (130 KM).
THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 969 MB (28.62 INCHES).
AT 11AM TODAY IRMA REMAINS A CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE.
BASED ON THE LATEST INFORMATION AND TRACK ANALYSIS, IRMA IS EXPECTED MAINTAIN A PATH THAT INCREASES THE THREAT OF STRONG WINDS, ROUGH SEAS AND HEAVY RAINFALL IMPACTING THE LEEWARD AND BVI LATE TUESDAY INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY. AS A RESULT, TROPICAL CYCLONE WATCHES AND/OR WARNINGS ARE LIKELY TO BE ISSUED LATER TODAY OR TONIGHT FOR THESE ISLANDS.
ALL STORM PREPARATION TO SAVE LIFE AND PROPERTY SHOULD CONTINUE AND RESIDENTS AND OTHER INTEREST IN THE LEEWARDS AND BVI ARE STRONGLY URGED TO CONTINUE TO CLOSELY MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF IRMA.
THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE AT 5 PM ECT THIS AFTERNOON.
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