INCREDIBLE Footage Shows Hurricane Hunters Airplane Flying Directly through Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma grew into a dangerous Category 5 storm, the most powerful seen in the Atlantic in over a decade, and roared toward islands in the northeast Caribbean Tuesday on a path that could eventually take it to the United States.



The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Irma was a “potentially catastrophic” storm with maximum sustained winds of 285 km/h as it bore down on the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda. It was centred about 365 kilometres east of Antigua in the late morning and moving west at 22 km/h.



The centre said there was a growing possibility that the storm’s effects could be felt in Florida later this week and over the weekend, though it was still too early to be sure of its future track.



If it stays on track and reaches the Florida Straits, the water there is warm enough that the already “intense” storm could become much worse with wind speeds potentially reaching 362 km/h, warned Kerry Emanuel, an MIT meteorology professor.



“People who are living there (the Florida Keys) or have property there are very scared, and they should be,” Emanuel said.