From NHC: DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK

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At 500 PM AST (2100 UTC), the center of Hurricane Irma was located near latitude 18.8 North, longitude 39.1 West. Irma is moving toward the west near 13 mph (20 km/h). A turn toward the west-southwest is expected tomorrow.

Maximum sustained winds are near 120 mph (195 km/h) with higher gusts. Irma is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Fluctuations in strength, up or down, are possible during the next few days, but Irma is expected to remain a powerful hurricane through the weekend.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 25 miles (35 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 105 miles (165 km).

The estimated minimum central pressure is 964 mb (28.47 inches).

From NASA/GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER:

NASA gets a night-time and under-the-hood look at Hurricane Irma

NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP Satellite provided a night-time and infrared look at the Atlantic’s latest hurricane that revealed the power under the clouds. NASA’s GPM also provided a look at the rainfall being generated by Hurricane Irma.

After forming in the eastern Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday tropical storm Irma strengthened and became a powerful category three hurricane on Thursday August 31, 2017.

Finding Irma’s Heaviest Rainfall

That heavy rainfall was confirmed by the Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite.

Hurricane Irma was moving west-northwestward with winds of about 115 mph (100 knots) when the GPM core Observatory satellite saw it on September 1 at 1:47 a.m. EDT (0547 UTC). Data collected by GPM’s Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) instruments showed the locations and intensity of heavy precipitation within the hurricane. GPM’s Radar (DPR Ku band) found that a powerful convective storm in a band of rain on Irma’s northern side was dropping rain at a rate of almost 6.3 inches (159 mm) per hour.

GPM’s radar (DPR Ku Band) showed the height and the 3-D rainfall structure of powerful storms spiraling around hurricane Irma. DPR showed that storm tops were reaching heights of over 9.6 miles (15.5 km) in the band of powerful convective storms north of the hurricane’s center. GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA.

Irma’s Location and Strength on Sept. 1

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) on Sept. 1 that Irma was undergoing an eyewall replacement cycle. The small eye was becoming less distinct, with both microwave and visible imagery indicating the presence of a forming outer eyewall.

The center of Hurricane Irma was located near 18.5 degrees north latitude and 27.8 degrees west longitude. That’s about 1,580 miles (2,540 km) east of the Leeward Islands. Irma was moving toward the west-northwest near 13 mph (20 kph). A turn toward the west is expected by tonight, followed by a turn toward the west-southwest on Saturday, Sept. 2.

Maximum sustained winds are near 110 mph (175 kph) with higher gusts. Fluctuations in strength, up or down, are possible during the next few days, but Irma is expected to remain a powerful hurricane through the weekend. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 15 miles (30 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 90 miles (150 km).

The estimated minimum central pressure is 972 millibars.

The NHC predicts that hurricane Irma will slowly intensify while heading toward the west-northwest. Irma is predicted to have winds of over 123 mph (110 knots) within the next five days. This would make Irma a strong category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. There is some uncertainty about the long term direction of Irma’s movement.

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