Hurricane Irma Upgraded to Category 5; Florida Prepares

9/5/2017 (Permalink)

Now is the time for North Floridians to prepare for Hurricane IRMA.

Hurricane Irma was upgraded to a dangerous Category 5 storm early Tuesday as it churned through the Atlantic Ocean. Tuesday’s 7:45 a.m. advisory revealed that Irma’s sustained wind strength had increased to 175 mph.

On Monday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Irma making landfall. Wednesday the storm is expected to be near Puerto Rico and by Friday it will be near Cuba. 

In the Jacksonville area, there will be an increasing threat of dangerous rip currents for several days.

Many hazards include: Elevated surf, coastal flooding, and beach erosion toward the end of the week. There is also a threat of very heavy rainfall through Northeast Florida this weekend.(7-day forecast)

The storm is then expected to make a quick turn to the north early Sunday morning, but it is still unknown at this time what that track will look like.

Now is the time to prepare your emergency kits.

SERVPRO Fernandina Beach/Yulee/North Jax will be available to help if your property suffers flooding. Call us at 904.729.2401.