According to the 8 p.m. bulletin, Irma’s eye is moving slowly north away from the coast of Cuba.
“Heavy squalls with embedded tornadoes sweeping across South Florida,” the NHC advisory at 8 p.m. reads.
“Major hurricane force winds [are] expected over the Florida Keys at daybreak,” the agency stated in a previous update.
According to the NHC, the eye of the storm will reach South Florida at around 2 a.m. Sunday.
“Hurricane warnings now extend as far north as Fernandina Beach on the Atlantic side, and up to Indian Pass on the Gulf side. Included in the hurricane warnings are the Florida Keys, Naples, Ft. Myers, the Tampa/St. Petersburg metro, Miami, West Palm Beach, Tallahassee, Thomasville and Valdosta,” it added.
It’s about 110 miles southeast from Key West, and it’s moving west-northwest at 7 mph. Earlier, it was moving at 9 mph
Irma is packing winds of 120 mph. However, according to Weather.com, the storm is expected to intensify to a Category 4 and hit Florida on Sunday.
Meanwhile, a storm surge warning “has been extended from the Volusia/Brevard County Line northward to the South Santee River,” the NHC said. That includes Tampa.
South Santee River southward around the Florida peninsula to the Suwanee River
Florida Keys
North of the Suwanee River to Ochlockonee RiverA Hurricane Warning is in effect for:
Fernandina Beach southward around the Florida peninsula to Indian Pass Florida Keys
Lake Okeechobee
Florida Bay
Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus, Villa Clara, Matanzas, and Havana
North of Fernandina Beach to Edisto BeachA Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for:
West of Indian Pass to the Okaloosa/Walton County Line North of Fernandina Beach to South Santee RiverFor Georgia and Carolinas residents, there’s a hurricane watch along the Georgia coast northward to Edisto Beach, South Carolina.