THE DAMAGE.
AS THIS STORM MOVES THROUGH,
THERE ARE GOING TO BE A
LOT MORE ANSWER IS LIKE THAT
WE'RE GOING TO BE
SHOWING YOU.
AND WORSE.
LET'S CHECK IN WITH LYSETTE
GONZALES.
I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT STORM
SURGE, BECAUSE THAT IS
KIND OF WHAT WE WERE PREPARING
FOR.
NOW WE'RE SEEING MORE RAIN THAN
WE EXPECTED, RIGHT?
.
RIGHT.
THAT IS DUE TO THE FACT THAT
THE CORE OF HURRICANE
IRMA THAT SHIFTED TO THE WEST
AS WE SAW THE PAST FEW
DAYS, THE CONE, THE MODELS KEPT
SHIFTING TO THE WEST
AND KEEPING IRMA MOVING MORE TO
THE WEST.
SO THOSE AREAS THAT WERE
PRODUCELY UNDER AN EXTREME
RISK OF DEALING WITH SOME
SEVERE STORM SURGE, NOW
NOT LOOKING AT THAT SEVERE
STORM SURGE.
INSTEAD COULD SEE MINOR STORM
SURGE.
MS. FOREPERSON DADE COUNTY AND
DOWN THROUGH THE
KEYS, WE ARE GOING TO SEE THE
POTENTIAL FOR SOME
VERY DANGEROUS STORM SURGE
THERE AS WELL AS NOW THAT
RISK IS INCREASING, AND
REMAINING HIGH FOR THE
SOUTHWEST COAST OF FLORIDA, AND
EVEN UP AND DOWN THE
GULF COAST OF THE STATE AND THE
EAST COAST JUST
NORTH OF US.
SO HERE IT IS.
WE JUST RECEIVED THE 11:00 A.M.
UPDATE.
. MAX SUSTAINED WINDS, 130
MILES PER HOUR.
THAT IS STILL THE CASE.
IT HAS NOT WEAKENED.
IT HAS MAINTAINED STRENGTH.
IT IS A MASSIVE HURRICANE,
PACKING A LOT OF PUNCH
AND IMPACTING REALLY THE ENTIRE
STATE OF FLORIDA.
IN TERMS OF THE TRACK, WE HAVE
OUR THOUGHTS WITH
EVERYBODY LIVING HERE ALONG THE
GULF COAST OF
FLORIDA, PAUSE WE COULD SEE A
CATEGORY 4IRMA EITHER
MOVING JUST OFFSHORE OR
POSSIBLY MAKING ANOTHER
LANDFALL HERE AROUND EITHER
NAPLES OR THE FORT MYERS
AREA, LIKELY CONTINUING UP THE
COAST TO TAMPA
POTENTIALLY AS A CATEGORY 3
LATER THIS EVENING INTO
TONIGHT.
POSSIBLY ALSO BRINGING SOME
DEVASTATING IMPACTS HERE
ACROSS PARTS OF THE BIG BAND-
AID AND ALSO THE
PANHANDLE OF FLORIDA AS A
CATEGORY 1 HURRICANE.
THEN IT'S NOT UNTIL WE GET INTO
TOMORROW EVENING
THAT WE START TO SEE IT PUSH
AWAY, MOVING
POTENTIALLY INTO GEORGIA AS A
TROPICAL STORM, AND
THEREAFTER ALABAMA OR
TENNESSEE.
MOVING TO THE NORTHWEST AWAY
FROM US.
THE HIGHEST RISK FOR THOSE
DESTRUCTIVE HURRICANE
FORCE WINDS, STRETCHING ALONG
THE GULF COAST OF
FLORIDA ALL THE WAY FROM THE
BIG BEND DOWN ACROSS
TAMPA, FORT MYERS AND NAPLES
AND MARCO ISLAND, ALL
THESE AREAS SHADED IN THE RED.
EVEN AREAS ACROSS CENTRAL
FLORIDA AND ORLANDO COULD
BE DEALING WITH SOME HURRICANE
FORCE WINDS AND DOWN
THROUGH THE KEYS.
THEY ARE CURRENTLY IN THE
EYEWALL AND DEALING WITH
HURRICANE CONDITIONS AS WE
SPEAK.
THAT IS THE MOST DANGEROUS,
MOST DESTRUCTIVE PART OF
THE HURRICANE, IS THE CORE.
LOOK FOR ALL OF THESE LIGHTNING
STRIKES AND DEEP
SHADES OF PURPLE.
THAT IS WHERE WE'RE SEEING THE
MOST DESTRUCTIVE
WINDS AND ALSO THE MOST
TORRENTIAL RAINFALL HERE.
WE'RE DEALING WITH THAT EYEWALL
HERE ACROSS PARTS OF
MARATHON TO PINE KEYS, KEYWEST
AS WELL.
WE'RE NOT GETTING A LOT OF DATA
FROM KEYWEST,
BECAUSE THE RADAR THERE IS
DOWN.
THAT'S NOT SURPRISING.
THAT TENDS TO HAPPEN BECAUSE OF
THE SHEER POWER
BECAUSE OF THESE WINDS, AND
WE'RE SEEING ALSO THAT
IS THE CASE WITH A LOT OF OUR
RADARS AND WEATHER
SITES HERE ACROSS SOUTH
FLORIDA.
I WANT TO WIDEN OUT THE VIEW,
AND YOU CAN SEE PRETTY
MUCH ALL OF SOUTH FLORIDA AND
NORTHWARD DEALING WITH
THE NORTHERN SIDE OF THIS
HURRICANE, AND WE'VE ONLY
JUST BEGUN.
THE WEATHER IS ONLY GOING TO
GET WORSE FROM HERE ON
OUT, ESPECIALLY FOR PARTS OF
PALM BEACH COUNTY, BROW
WARD, MIAMI DADE COUNTY.
EARLIER WE HAD A TORNADO
WARNING IN POLICE FOR
PAWNEE COUNTY.
WE COULD SEE SOME MORE TORNADO
WARNINGS GOING UP.
HEADS UP THERE.
RIGHT NOW, AS WE ZOOM DOWN
TOWARDS BROW WARD COUNTY,
WE ARE DEALING WITH VERY FAST-
MOVING SQUALLS.
NOW, THESE RAIN BANDS ARE
RACING IN, AROUND 80 MILES
PER HOUR.
SO THAT'S THE REASON WE'RE
SEEING ALSO THAT THE
WINDS ARE HOWLING, AND MANY OF
YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT
HOW YOUR SHUTTERS ARE SHAKING.
. PRETTY MUCH ALL OF MIAMI
DA,DE COUNTY, YOU CAN HEAR
THE WIND IN THE STUDIO.
THE WIND OUTSIDE OUR STUDIOS IN
DUREL HAVE BEEN
HOWLING.
DURING THE BREAK I WAS
LISTENING IN.
CAN BE QUITE SCARRY.
WE'RE GOING TO RIDE OUT THE
STORM TOGETHER.
DOWN IN HOMESTEAD, WE ARE
DEALING WITH HEAVY SQUALLS
AS WELL AS ACROSS ALL THE KEYS
AT THIS TIME.
LOOK AT THIS.
THIS IS WHAT WE WERE TALKING
ABOUT.
NOT FOCUSING ON THE CONE.
THIS IS THE REASON WHY.
BECAUSE THIS HURRICANE IS SO
HUGE, THAT THIS IS JUST
THE NORTHERN PART OF THE
HURRICANEEN COMPASSING THE
ENTIRE STATE OF FLORIDA
PRACTICALLY.
WE'RE SEEING SQUALLS ALL THE
WAY UP THROUGH CENTRAL
AND NORTH FLORIDA AT THIS TIME
WHEN WE LOOK AT THE
RADAR.
OUR BIGGEST THREAT IS GOING TO
BE THAT STORM SURGE
THREAT.
IT HAS GONE DOWN.
MIAMI DADE COUNTY COULD SEE
STORM SURGE THREAT.
. NOW THAT WE ARE SEEING -- ON
THE EASTERN SIDE
SETTING UP, LEADING TO TRAINING
OF RAIN FALLING ON
THE SAME AREAS OVER AND OVER
AGAIN.
WE ARE UNDER FLOOD WARNINGS AS
WELL, WATCHES IN
PLACE FOR PARTS OF LAKE
OKOCHOBEE.
WARNINGS EXTENDING ACROSS THE
ENTIRE STATE OF
FLORIDA, NOW INTO PARTS OF
GEORGIA AND SOUTH
CAROLINA.
WHAT ABOUT THE RAINFALL
POTENTIAL?
WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, SOME
AREAS COULD BE
SEEING ANYWHERE FROM 6 TO 10
INCHES OF RAIN.
BUT SOME AREAS COULD SEE 15 TO
20 INCHES OF RAIN.
AND DOWN THROUGH THE KEYS, WE
COULD POTENTIALLY SEE
25 INCHES OF RAIN OR MORE.
THAT RAINFALL POTENTIAL IS HIGH
FOR NAPLES, FORT
MYERS, ALL THESE AREAS ALONG
THE GULF COAST, ALL THE
WAY NORTHWARD TO TAMPA, EVEN
ORLANDO.
AND AS WE TAKE A LOOK AT OUR
LIVE VIEW FROM OUR
LAUDER DALE BY THE SEA CAMERA,
THE CAMERA HAS BEEN
SHAKING SO MUCH AT A TIME,
IT'LL JUST SUDDENLY SHIFT
OFF.
AND DAVE WARREN, HE'S IN THE
WEATHER CENTER, HE'S
GOING TO KIND OF PAN SO YOU CAN
TAKE A LOOK AT THIS
ROUGH SURF AND JUST HOW NASTY
THE WEATHER IS NOW.
OUR HANK CHESTER IS ACTUALLY
REPORTING LIVE FROM
HERE.
CAN I GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO OUR
ENTIRE TEAM OF
REPORTERS, PROVIDING US WITH
INFORMATION?
HANK, HE'S BEEN THROUGH SOME OF
THESE HURRICANES AND
COVERING THESE TROPICAL STORMS
AND HURRICANES
THROUGH THE YEARS.
WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE WE HAVE
HIM.
TO LET YOU KNOW AT HOME WHAT IS
GOING ON OUT THERE.
THIS IS JUSTABLE IN TO SEE HOW
POWERFUL HURRICANE
IRMA IS.
I'M SURPRISED THEY'RE STILL
STANDING.
BUT I DID HEAR SOME OF THESE
PALM TREES HAVE THE
RESILIENCE.
YOU'LL SEA THE FRIENDS COMING
OFF.
QUITE IMPRESSIVE TO SEE HOW
DESTRUCTIVE THESE WINDS
CAN BE.
THE WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO
INCREASE THROUGH THIS
EVENING.
IT'S GOING TO BE AN ENTIRE
EVENT FOR US.
THE SAME TROPICAL STORM WINDS
GOING ON.
HURRICANE FORCE WIND GUSTS.
80 TO A HUNDRED PER HOUR GUSTS
WILL BE POSSIBLE, ALL