Hurricane Irma is a Threat to Florida

Hurricane Irma keeps angling south, and that's very bad news regarding its impact on the U.S. Modeling now suggests Irma will move right up the east coast of Florida, or traveling a little bit inland, from the Everglades (according to the NVG model, Sunday evening, 6 p.m.) all the way up to Jacksonville. The GFS model has a similar path, but moving faster, passing directly over Aiken (Tuesday, Sept. 12th, midday). Having a storm so close will affect Tampa to some extent. The big danger is that a path along Florida's east coast is nearly the same thing as a path up Florida's west coast as far as the hurricane is concerned. We will need to watch this storm.

[UPDATE] The latest NVG model forecast keeps moving the hurricane path westward, suggesting a direct hurricane hit on St. Petersburg, but the GFS model forecast keeps the storm moving along Florida's east coast and into SC. A lot depends on quickly the east coast trough lifts out and how the high pressure system developing behind it over the Great Lakes directs the storm. It's too early to make any decisions on what to do, since there is no consensus on the path and the path keeps changing. The size and speed of the storm is an issue too, since it's hard to evade something big and fast-moving.