Hurricane Irma makes second landfall, leaves path of destruction
Posted September 10, 2017 1:59 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL. (NEWS 1130) – Hurricane Irma has made landfall on Marco Island, Florida, as a Category 3 hurricane — the second landfall in about 12 hours.
Ferocious winds rip through Naples, Florida amid northern band of Hurricane #Irma‘s eye https://t.co/5Kz3EN1ESV pic.twitter.com/jSAhQFPM7M
— ABC News (@ABC) September 10, 2017
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Irma’s powerful eye roared ashore at Marco Island just south of Naples with 115-mph (185-kph) winds, for a second US landfall at 3:35 p.m. Sunday.
Category 3 storms have winds from 111 to 129 mph, but 130-mph (21-kph) wind gust was recently reported by the Marco Island Police Department.
Irma’s second US landfall was tied for the 21st strongest landfall in the US based on central pressure. Irma’s first US landfall in the Florida Keys was tied for 7th.
More than 2.1 million customers have lost power in Florida with Hurricane Irma striking the state.
Florida Power & Light reported the numbers Sunday afternoon. The utility, which services much of south Florida, says more than 845,000 of those customers are in Miami-Dade County.
Duke Energy, the dominant utility in the northern half of Florida, has about 13,000 outages with the outer bands of Irma sweeping across the region.
The power companies say they have extra crews on hand to try to restore power — when it becomes safe to do so.
Chris Cuomo battling Irma’s full force in Naples. Peak gust 142 mph at 4:35 pm https://t.co/SBp2cjLCIK pic.twitter.com/Gv1IjMAQij
— CNN Weather Center (@CNNweather) September 10, 2017
FPL spokesman Rob Gould says an estimated 3.4 million homes and businesses will lose power once the worst of Irma reaches the Florida mainland.
Hurricane Irma is affecting the House of Representative’s work schedule in Washington.
A notice from the House majority leader’s office says the House now doesn’t plan to take any votes Monday because of “the large number of absences” as a result of the storm.
The first votes of the week are expected Tuesday evening.
The House leadership will keep tabs on the situation and announce updates as necessary.
Hurricane hits Tampa
Hurricane Irma has pushed water out of a bay in Tampa, but forecasters are telling people not to venture out there, because it’s going to return with a potentially deadly vengeance.
On Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa, approximately 100 people were walking Sunday afternoon on what was Old Tampa Bay — a body of water near downtown. Hurricane Irma’s winds and low tide have pushed the water unusually far from its normal position. Some people are venturing as far as 200 yards (180 meters) out to get to the water’s new edge. The water is normally about 4 to 5 feet (1 to 1.5 meters) deep and reaches a seawall.
The US Hurricane Center has sent out an urgent alert warning of a “life-threatening storm surge inundation of 10 to 15 feet (3 to 5 meters) above ground level” and telling people to “MOVE AWAY FROM THE WATER!”
The waters retracted because the leading wind bands of Irma whipped the coastal water more out to sea. But once the eye passes and the wind reverses, the water will rush back in.
