‘This is as real as it gets’: Forecasters issue grim Irma warning for Florida Keys

Hurricane Irma’s path towards Florida ticked westward in forecasts on Friday, putting the Florida Keys directly in the Category 4 storm’s cross-hairs—and forecasters are describing its dangers in bleak terms.

A mandatory evacuation of the Florida Keys has already been ordered, but on Friday evening the National Weather Service’s Key West office took to Twitter to offer a final, dire warning to anyone who thinks they can ride out the storm there.

“All the Keys have the potential to get 5 to 10 feet of storm surge,” Ed Rappaport, acting director of the National Hurricane Center, said in an interview with WSVN.

Landfall is expected early Sunday morning along the Keys or the south Florida peninsula, either as a powerful Category 4 or 5 storm.

Tropical storm force winds are likely to start lashing the state around 8 a.m. or earlier on Saturday morning—and once the storm itself arrives, hurricane force winds could pummel areas of south Florida for up to 12 hours.

“There’s no reason to be there now,” Rappaport added. “It’s not clear it’s a survivable situation for anyone who is still there in the Keys.”

The National Weather Service urged Twitter users to retweet its message to spread the word that Hurricane Irma may be unsurvivable on the island chain.

Other Twitter users, including meteorologists and hurricane experts, sent out similar warnings:

The storm’s worst conditions will last through Sunday after it makes landfall in south Florida.

“It’s not a question of if Florida’s going to be impacted, it’s a question of how bad Florida’s going to be impacted,” William Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said at a Friday news briefing.

This story was originally published September 8, 2017 at 7:29 PM with the headline "‘This is as real as it gets’: Forecasters issue grim Irma warning for Florida Keys."