Where is Hurricane Irma? Storm takes aims at Florida
Hurricane Irma made landfall on the north coast of Cuba overnight ahead of an expected turn north, weakening slightly as it moved over the island.
At 11 a.m. Saturday, Irma was located 175 miles southwest Key West, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). It was moving at west at 9 mph, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 125 mph.
Irma weakened slightly over Cuba. It made landfall overnight as a Category 5 storm before dipping back to a Category 4. It became a Category 3 system later Saturday morning, but the NHC says Irma is expected to strengthen as it moves closer toward Florida.
The NHC expects the storm to begin moving northwest later in the day Saturday before moving north-northwest Saturday night or Sunday morning. The center expects Irma to reach the Florida Keys by Sunday morning and be near the southwest coast of the state Sunday afternoon.
The massive size of the storm, however, means high winds and deadly storm surge will affect areas far from its center. Hurricane-force winds extend 70 miles from the center, and tropical force winds can be felt up to 195 miles away.
The Florida Keys could get up to 20 inches of rain, with lower amounts expected on the mainland.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott is urging residents in evacuation zones to flee their homes while there is still time. On "CBS This Morning: Saturday," Scott said his biggest concern is the storm surge produced by the storm.
"A potential 12 feet of storm surge. Think about that. This water flows in, it's 12 feet. You cannot survive this," Scott said.
