NHC Atlantic OpsVerified account @NHC_Atlantic 2m2 minutes agoHurricane #Irma Advisory 24: Dangerous Hurricane Irma Heading For the Leeward Islands With 150 Mph Winds. http://go.usa.gov/W3H
NWS Miami Verified account @NWSMiami 17m17 minutes ago8 AM Update: Hurricane Irma is now a category 5 storm with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph.
A peak SFMR wind of 154 kt was reported, with a few others of 149-150 kt. Based on these data the initial intensity is set at 155 kt for this advisory. This makes Irma the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic basin outside of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico in the NHC records.
HWRF 12z suggests continued intensification of Hurricane #Irma to 909 mb north of Puerto Rico. Winds of 200-knots at 900-mb.
With Irma so close, British Virgin Islands are unavoidably in its path, and will likely get hit with the Category 5 force before the storm has a chance to drop in strength.
Irma is now the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record.