Hurricane Irma On Track To Hit New York? Possible Path Scares Netizens

Some people were worried Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm, would hit New York. It’s currently on path to hit the Caribbean and possibly Florida, but Tuesday predictions did not have Irma on track to wreak havoc in New York. Still, some netizens were scared about the possibility of Irma making its way up north.

They flocked to Twitter Tuesday to express their concern.

With maximum winds up to 185 miles per hour, Irma could be one of the strongest hurricanes to hit the United States. “Irma is a potentially catastrophic category 5 hurricane and will bring life-threatening wind, storm surge, and rainfall hazards to portions of the northeastern Leeward Islands tonight and tomorrow,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in statement Tuesday. “These hazards will spread into the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico tomorrow. Preparations should be rushed to completion before the arrival of tropical-storm force winds tomorrow morning in Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.”

Hurricane Irma will “likely bring dangerous wind, storm surge, and rainfall” to Dominican Republic, Haiti, the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos starting Wednesday and into Friday.

There is change it could impact Florida, though the magnitude that it might hit the state wasn’t immediately known. “The chance of direct impacts from Irma beginning later this week and this weekend from wind, storm surge, and rainfall continues to increase in the Florida Keys and portions of the Florida Peninsula. However, it is too soon to specify the timing and magnitude of these impacts,” NOAA wrote.

People in the Caribbean were urged to take preparations to protect property and lives. “We could see storm surges of 7 to 11 feet — that's certainly life-threatening — and very, very heavy flooding rainfall,” the hurricane center's Michael Brennan told CNN Tuesday.

People in the northeastern Caribbean could face the brunt of Irma. “Anguilla, all the way toward (Antigua and) Barbuda, all the way up even toward the British Virgin Islands (are) in grave danger of an eye wall hit at (at least) 150 mph — that devastates the island, no matter what island it is,” CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said Tuesday.

There have been no official statements about Irma potentially hitting New York.

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