Hurricane Irma was upgraded to a category 4 storm yesterday and is expected to continue to strengthen in the next 48 hours.
Here’s what we know:
- Maximum sustained winds increased to 140 mph yesterday. It is moving west at 13 mph toward the Leeward Islands (south + east of Puerto Rico) yesterday.
- Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency yesterday for all counties.
- Officials at the N.C. American Red Cross are holding off on sending volunteers to help with Hurricane Harvey because of the possible need to send resources to Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina.
- Irma could dump up to 10 inches of rain, unleash landslides and dangerous flash floods and generate waves of up to 23 feet as the storm draws closer.
Follow AccuWeather, National Hurricane Center, and The Weather Channel for updates on Hurricane Irma as it moved towards the U.S. in the coming days.
