Hot off the presses at 2 pm:
DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK
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At 200 PM AST (1800 UTC), the distinct eye of Hurricane Irma was
located near latitude 20.7 North, longitude 70.4 West. Irma is
moving toward the west-northwest near 16 mph (26 km/h), and this
general motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days
with some decrease in forward speed. On the forecast track, the eye
of Irma should continue to move between Hispaniola and the Turks and
Caicos this afternoon. The hurricane will then move across the
southeastern Bahamas by this evening, and then be near the central
Bahamas by Friday.
Maximum sustained winds remain near 175 mph (280 km/h) with
higher gusts. Irma is a category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson
Hurricane Wind Scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are likely
during the next day or two, but Irma is forecast to remain a
powerful category 4 or 5 hurricane during the next couple of days.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from
the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185
miles (295 km)...
