Hurricane Irma became tied for the seventh strongest storm to make landfall in U.S. history by a key measurement of atmospheric pressure. Hurricane Irma made landfall at Cudjoe Key at 9:10 a.m. with a minimum central pressure of 929 millibars. Atmospheric pressure is one of the major measurements meteorologists use to describe storms. The lower the pressure, the stronger the storm.
Dozens of personnel from the Environmental Protection Agency worked to secure some of the nation’s most contaminated toxic waste sites as Hurricane Irma bore down on Florida. The agency said its employees evacuated personnel, secured equipment and safeguarded hazardous materials in anticipation of storm surges and heavy rains.
As Hurricane Irma threatened to wallop the St. Petersburg area, several folks got out on the beach ahead of the storm. As they milled about Sunday morning, they looked at sailboats bobbing in the wind as the sun rose and took selfies and photos of the beach.
Anheuser Busch stepped up to bring in more than 310,000 cans of clean drinking water to areas of the state affected by Hurricane Irma.
Florida’s governor is issuing urgent warnings to a third of his state’s residents to evacuate ahead of a massive hurricane on track to be the state’s most catastrophic ever. Gov. Rick Scott says the entire west coast of Florida will likely see dangerous affects from storm surge as Hurricane Irma comes ashore Sunday. About 6.3 million of the state’s approximately 21 million residents have been asked to evacuate.
With the window closing fast for anyone wanting to escape, Irma hurtled toward Florida with 125 mph winds Saturday on a shifting course that threatened the first direct hit on the Tampa area from a major hurricane in nearly a century. That represented a significant turn in the forecast, which for days had made it look instead as if the Miami metropolitan area of 6 million people was going to get slammed head-on by the Big One.
From Pinellas County Government: In light of Hurricane Irma’s heightened threat to lives and property of Pinellas County residents, the mandatory evacuation order is now extended to all residents and businesses in evacuation Level B, effective immediately. The order continues for residents of mobile homes countywide, regardless of evacuation zone, and includes residents previously ordered to evacuate from Level A. Residents in Level B must begin evacuating immediately and secure safe shelter promptly. Residents of Level A and all mobile homes must…