As of 8 a.m. Saturday morning, Irma is a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph. It is about 225 miles from Miami, moving west-northwest at close to 15 mph.
Two days ago, it was expected that Hurricane Irma would be an episode for the Miami coastline. Now, the story has changed. Hurricane Irma drifted further to the West than the experts anticipated. Now, it is expected to make landfall on Key West, FL and travel up the west coast of the peninsula.
The greatest danger is not expected to be rain or epic winds, but storm surge.
Storm surge is a phenomenon that occurs when a hurricane’s winds physically moves the ocean water beneath it and low pressure pulls it up. The result is a drastic rise in sea level that decimates the coastline.
Thanks to Irma, the Tampa Bay area is on high alert. Any storm surge above 5 ft. would already have huge effects on the surrounding neighborhoods. Homes on the water would be easy targets.
Irma’s storm surge is expected to be up to 13 ft.
