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Hurricane Irene appears to be headed toward Florida or the Southeast coast of the U.S.
Exact track still uncertain but SE coast of U.S. is in the bullseye
By Summit Voice
SUMMIT COUNTY — Irene strengthened overnight to become the first hurricane of the 2011 season with sustained winds of 75 mph. The storm is expected to gradually intensify the next few days, developing winds of more than 100 mph by the end of the week, when it could pose a threat to Florida or the Southeast coastline.
The storm left at least 800,000 people without power in Puerto Rico before gradually moving away from the island, with the forecast track taking just north of Hispaniola and Cuba before gradually curving more to the north toward Florida.
Hurricane watches are in effect for the parts of the northern Haiti coast and the central Bahamas, while tropical storm warnings have been issues for the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, the southern coast of the Dominican Republic and parts of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
According to the National Hurricane Center, there is still a lot of uncertainty about when Irene will start heading north, with some models showing the storm heading for the Gulf of Mexico and Florida’s west coast, while other forecast tracks keep the storm just of the east side of the peninsula. (more…)
Filed under: climate and weather | Tagged: 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, Dominican Republic, Hurricane Irene, Hurricane Irene Florida, Hurricane warnings, National Hurricane Center | Leave a Comment »
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