Irma spun into a monster storm Tuesday morning with sustained winds topping 180 mph,
becoming the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded outside the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean,
National Hurricane Center forecasters said in their 11 a.m. advisory.
As the hurricane churns closer to the U.S. coast,
its path becomes more certain, with South Florida,
particularly the Keys, increasingly likely to take a hit.
Tropical storm force winds could arrive as early as Friday. Gov. Rick Scott
has declared a state of emergency for all 67 counties and
will spend much of Tuesday morning in hurricane briefings.
Because Irma is so large, forecasters urged caution in
paying too much attention to its exact track. The storm is
continuing to roll west at 14 mph, with winds expected to begin
battering the Leeward Islands today. A powerful high pressure
ridge is steering the storm and will likely stay in place over the
next few days, forecasters said. In five days, a trough moving
across the U.S. should begin weakening the western edge of the ridge,
allowing the storm to slide north.
Where Irma makes the turn will determine impacts to Florida.