Hurricane Irma looks like it is going to directly hit Florida

NOAA predictions of Hurricane Irma and Jose's tracks. 

Not much to say about this but it is looking like Hurricane Irma is going to be an absolute disaster. I guess it already is a disaster considering how much damage it has done in the Caribbean, but it seems like it is very likely to hit Florida, especially the Miami area.

It also looks like the storm isn't going to lose much power either. There was hope that hitting Puerto Rico and Cuba would slow down the storm a bit and push it out further to the ocean away from Florida. Fortunately for them and unfortunately for Florida, Irma looks like it is going to just graze both islands. That won't weaken the storm much. It seems very likely that the storm will hit Florida as a still very powerful category 4 storm, with a slim chance of it still being a category 5. 

I don't think Florida is used to such powerful storms. From what I understand people in Florida tend to view Hurricanes as a joke. Perhaps that is justified for a category 1 or 2 storm, but not a 4 or 5. I am hoping that people head the governments warnings and evacuate. There is no reason to take the risk if you can get out. 

I encourage EVERYONE in the path of #HurricaneIrma to heed the advice and orders of local & state officials! https://t.co/AQmawTpZs0

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 8, 2017

If you have been ordered to evacuate, do so now. Don’t wait. https://t.co/WUFNlOGrMF

— Rick Scott (@FLGovScott) September 7, 2017

There is still a small chance that the storm will push itself out to sea, but we can't count on that anymore. What it looks like is that a major portion of Florida will be hit. It also looks like the eye of the storm is likely to hit the East coast of the state. There is still a chance that the storm will hit in the center of the state, thus effecting both coasts. That would truly be the worst case scenario and one that I hope we avoid.

This storm is a tremendous case of bad luck for the United States. We are still recovering from Hurricane Harvey which was a hugely damaging storm that killed scores of people. If anything, Irma looks even worse and to have it hit so soon afterwards after another major storm is devastating. I am still hopeful that we will somehow get lucky, but it is not looking good...