#Bahamas, September 3, 2017 – Nassau – THIS IS A NEWS ITEM ON HURRICANE IRMA ISSUED BY THE BAHAMAS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY FORECAST OFFICE SECTION AT 6AM SUNDAY 3RD SEPTEMBER 2017.
… IRMA’S INTENSITY CONTINUES TO FLUCTUATE AND ITS BACK TO CATEGORY 3 STRENGTH…
…INTERESTS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE BAHAMAS SHOULD MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF IRMA…
AT 5AM EDT, THE CENTER OF HURRICANE IRMA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 18.0° NORTH AND LONGITUDE 47.5° WEST OR ABOUT 945 MILES EAST OF THE LEEWARD ISLANDS.
IRMA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-SOUTHWEST NEAR 15 MILES PER HOUR AND THIS COURSE AT A SLIGHTLY SLOWER FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT. A TURN TOWARD THE WEST IS FORECAST ON MONDAY.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 115 MILES PER HOUR WITH HIGHER GUSTS. IRMA IS A CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON WIND SCALE. SOME ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.
ONCE AGAIN RESIDENTS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE BAHAMAS ARE BEING URGED TO CAREFULLY MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF THIS SYSTEM.
THE NEXT NEWS ITEM WILL BE ISSUED AT NOON.
