Incredible video shows ariel view of Hurricane Irma

Miami, which was on track for a direct hit from Hurricane Irma, was thrown a lifeline on Saturday as the storm's path veered west.

Irma is expected to move up the southwest coast as a Category 4 hurricane on Sunday, bringing with it 130mph winds and life threatening rain after battering Cuba on Saturday.

It will remain off the coast of Florida until Monday when meteorologists predict it will then hit Tampa as a Category 3 storm. After the new forecast emerged on Saturday, the mayor of Tampa said ominously: 'It's not looking good for us.'

Miami is still under an evacuation order and officials are warning residents not to return to their homes in light of the news that Irma is moving west because it is still at risk of severe storm surge.

Irma is so powerful that no matter where it hits and even before it does, the entire southern section of the state is at risk of storm surge, deadly wind and rain.

More than 5million people have been evacuated in anticipation of it and 50,000 people are in shelters across the state.

On Saturday morning, Governor Rick Scott, who has been pleading with residents for days to leave evacuation zones before Irma hits, said : 'This is a catastrophic storm. We have never seen this before. The storm is bigger than our state.