A weakening but still dangerously powerful Hurricane Irma, now a Category 2 storm, is nearing the Tampa-St. Petersburg area on Sunday night, with tropical storm-force winds extending out 415 miles, according to the National Hurricane Center. Irma made landfall at Cudjoe Key just after 9 a.m. on Sunday, then made landfall a second time at Marco Island at 3:30 p.m. before pummeling Naples just to the north. Winds as strong as 99 miles per hour swept through Miami-Dade County, flooding the streets of Miami and toppling two cranes plus another in Ft. Lauderdale. At least 3.3 million homes and businesses were without power in Florida on Sunday night, and "life-threatening" wind and storm surge warnings are in effect from the Keys to Tampa and much of western and central Florida.
From the Florida Keys to points north, broadcasters and the occasional storm chaser tried to capture the power of Irma, with varying degrees of success. Here's storm-chaser Lagend Juston measuring the winds on Key West at 8:50 a.m., right before landfall at nearby Cudjoe Key.
Subscribe to 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.
-
'The disconnect between actual health care and the insurance model is widening'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Cautious optimism surrounds plans for the world's first nuclear fusion power plantTalking Point Some in the industry feel that the plant will face many challenges
-
Explore new worlds this winter at these 6 enlightening museum exhibitionsThe Week Recommends Discover the estrados of Spain and the connection between art and chess in various African countries
-
Hundreds feared dead in French Mayotte cycloneSpeed Read Cyclone Chido slammed into Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean
-
Thirteen missing after Red Sea tourist boat sinksSpeed Read The vessel sank near the Egyptian coastal town of Marsa Alam
-
Global plastics summit starts as COP29 endsSpeed Read Negotiators gathering in South Korea seek an end to the world's plastic pollution crisis, though Trump's election may muddle the deal
-
Biden visits Amazon, says climate legacy irreversibleSpeed Read Nobody can reverse America's 'clean energy revolution,' said the president, despite the incoming Trump administration's promises to dismantle climate policies
-
At least 95 dead in Spain flash floodsSpeed Read Torrential rainfall caused the country's worst flooding since 1996
-
Cuba roiled by island-wide blackouts, Hurricane OscarSpeed Read The country's power grid collapsed for the fourth time in just two days
-
Wildlife populations drop a 'catastrophic' 73%Speed Read The decline occurred between 1970 and 2020
-
Floridians flee oncoming Hurricane MiltonSpeed Read The hurricane is expected to cause widespread damage in the state
