News Item on Hurricane Irma issued by The Bahamas Department of Meteorology Forecast Office Section, at 6PM Thursday 31st August 2017.

IRMA BECOMES A CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE OVER THE EASTERN ATLANTIC AT 5:00 PM EDT, THE CENTER OF HURRICANE IRMA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 17.3° NORTH AND LONGITUDE 34.8° WEST OR ABOUT 720 MILES WEST OF THE CABO VERDE ISLANDS AND ABOUT 1780 MILES EAST OF THE LEEWARD ISLANDS.

IRMA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 12 MPH. THIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TODAY, FOLLOWED BY A WESTWARD TURN ON SATURDAY AND A WEST-SOUTHWESTWARD MOTION BY SUNDAY.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 115 MILES PER HOUR (MPH) WITH HIGHER GUSTS. IRMA IS A CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SCALE. FLUCTUATIONS IN STRENGTH ARE POSSIBLE, BUT IRMA IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN A POWERFUL HURRICANE FOR SEVERAL DAYS.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 15 MILES FROM THE CENTER AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 80 MILES.

THE NEXT NEWS ITEM WILL BE ISSUED AT MIDNIGHT.

PREPARED BY DUTY FORECASTER: PATRICIA WEEKS