On Wednesday afternoon, just hours after Hurricane Irma made landfall, Tropical Storms Jose and Katia both strengthened into Category 1 hurricanes. Both Jose and Irma now have maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour.
Jose is churning in the Atlantic well east of Irma. It appears to be headed toward the Caribbean, though it's not yet clear if it will make landfall. The National Hurricane Center advised that Jose is "quickly strengthening" and could possibly intensify to "major hurricane strength" on Friday.
Katia is forming in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico and is expected to make landfall in Mexico this weekend. A hurricane watch has already been issued for the coast of the Mexican state of Veracruz.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Meanwhile, the first of the three hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean is wreaking havoc. Irma, a Category 5 storm, passed over the British Virgin Islands on Wednesday afternoon, packing sustained winds of 185 miles per hour. Irma is the most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and is expected to remain a Category 5 or 4 as it heads toward Puerto Rico and then to Florida.
-
Taking aim at Venezuela’s autocratFeature The Trump administration is ramping up military pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Is he a threat to the U.S.?
-
Comey indictment: Is the justice system broken?Feature U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying and obstructing Congress
-
Government shuts down amid partisan deadlockFeature As Democrats and Republicans clash over health care and spending, the shutdown leaves 750,000 federal workers in limbo
-
China vows first emissions cut, sidelining USSpeed Read The US, the world’s No. 2 emitter, did not attend the New York summit
-
At least 800 dead in Afghanistan earthquakespeed read A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit a mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan
-
Massive earthquake sends tsunami across PacificSpeed Read Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan and Hawaii were told to evacuate to higher ground
-
FEMA Urban Search and Rescue chief resignsSpeed Read Ken Pagurek has left the organization, citing 'chaos'
-
Wildfires destroy historic Grand Canyon lodgeSpeed Read Dozens of structures on the North Rim have succumbed to the Dragon Bravo Fire
-
Search for survivors continues after Texas floodsSpeed Read A total of 82 people are confirmed dead, including 28 children
-
EPA is reportedly killing Energy Star programspeed read The program for energy-efficient home appliances has saved consumers billions in energy costs since its 1992 launch
-
US proposes eroding species protectionsSpeed Read The Trump administration wants to change the definition of 'harm' in the Environmental Protection Act to allow habitat damage
