After maintaining 185 mph sustained winds for a record breaking 37 straight hours and buzz sawing through the Caribbean islands of Barbuda, Saint Martin, Turks and Caicos to name some, Irma now sets it’s sights on the southern Bahamas and Florida through the next 48 hours.

Though ‘sustained’ winds were reduced to 150 mph and now back to 155 mph and the NHC is now forecasting a return to Category 5 status over the ‘deeper warmth’ of the Florida Straits.

https://twitter.com/MichaelRLowry/status/906279699600592897

https://twitter.com/wxjerdman/status/906093152821444608

https://twitter.com/ScottDimmich/status/905982463834513408

https://twitter.com/JimCantore/status/906265587181084672

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/906271844533141504

WEATHER.COM LIVE COVERAGE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbgUitVtbI8

Not one but three Category 3+ hurricanes in the Atlantic today.

https://twitter.com/WxDeFlitch/status/906177687160590336

After literally wiping out Barbuda and Saint Martin, Turks and Caicos and US/British Virgin Islands took quite the hit too.

https://twitter.com/StormchaserUKEU/status/906201034816663552

https://twitter.com/RanaldoForbes/status/905903993154666497

https://twitter.com/JimCantore/status/906172304111136768

https://twitter.com/ABC/status/906263951423438849

Our eyes now turn to Cuba, southern Bahamas and of course Florida.

NHC has sustained winds at 155 but they are expected to INCREASE back into Category 5 threshold (160 mph possible) over the Florida Straits with a landfall expected somewhere between Key Largo and Key West early Sunday.

https://twitter.com/ABC/status/906270291730554885

Latest GFS takes this system below 900mb prior to landfall in South Florida.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Acap3IrCYYk

Tags: hurricane irma