Weather

CNN reports: Hurricane Maria is forecast to rapidly strengthen over the next two days as it takes aim at Caribbean islands devastated by Hurricane Irma just days ago. “Significant strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Maria is expected to become a dangerous major hurricane before it moves through the Leeward Islands,” according to the National Hurricane Center’s …

The Miami Herald reports: All Monroe County residents will be able to return to the Keys Sunday. This includes those who live in severely hard-hit areas of the Lower Keys between Key West and Marathon. Residents of the Middle Keys will be allowed to return Saturday morning, said Roman Gastesi, county administrator, during a Saturday morning conference call with other …

Bloomberg reports: Hurricane Jose may threaten New York City and other areas of the East Coast by next week, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm, about 550 miles (885 kilometers) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane Friday as it churned through the Atlantic Ocean. Jose’s path could put it near New Jersey …

The Palm Beach Post reports: After 25 years in Key West, Jim Gilleran knows residents need a cold beer, a hot meal and a place to reconnect after a hurricane. While most bars and restaurants remain shuttered on Duval Street, Gilleran opened his 801 Bar hours after Hurricane Irma smashed past the island. He’s kept his generator operating since, serving …

The Palm Beach Post reports: As life returns to a small semblance of normal in the Upper Keys, normal is still far off for residents living in the Middle and Lower Keys, where the usually raucous town of Key West was boarded up and shut down. The Marathon Airport took on the look of a disaster on foreign soil as …

CBS News reports: Five people are dead at a Florida nursing home that was evacuated early Wednesday after several days without power. Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief said about 100 patients were evacuated from the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills early Wednesday and officials are working to relocate them to safety. Three people were found dead at the nursing home …

The Washington Post reports: Millions of Floridians grappled with the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Wednesday, confronting a sweltering reality: More than 40 percent of Florida still lacked electricity, and for some of them, the lights might not come back on for days or even weeks. “We understand what it means to be in the dark,” said Robert Gould, vice …

CNN reports: Initial estimates indicate 25% of the houses in the Florida Keys have been destroyed, and 65% have major damage, said Brock Long, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s administrator. Basically, every house in the Keys was impacted some way,” Long said Tuesday. He said the numbers are early estimates and could change. Irma left a trail of devastation throughout …

Reuters reports: Residents who fled the Florida Keys in anticipation of Hurricane Irma’s wrath were told they could not return to their island homes on Monday, news that angered evacuees anxious to get back to assess the damage. Authorities reported widespread damage on the archipelago off the tip of southern Florida. At the White House, U.S. Homeland Security Adviser Tom …

The Independent reports: Milo Yiannopoulos says his house in Miami has been destroyed by Hurricane Irma. Posting a picture of the roof having been torn off a building in the city’s West Brickell area, he commented: “MY HOUSE IS GONE”. Mr Yiannopoulos, a former Breitbart News writer and editor and a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, had earlier appeared to …

The Washington Post reports: Flight cancellations are now in the thousands following Irma’s destructive path over the weekend, and more air traffic disruptions await as now tropical storm Irma treks toward Atlanta, home of the world’s busiest airport. Delta Air Lines, said Monday that it has canceled about 900 flights, more than a third from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International. The airline, …

The Miami Herald reports: As the waves and winds began easing Sunday, residents of Old Town emerged not knowing exactly what to expect from the most powerful hurricane to strike the Florida Keys in more than a half century. But all in all, many in Key West seemed relieved that the damage from a Category 4 Irma was not much, …

The Associated Press reports: Announcing itself with roaring 130 mph winds, Hurricane Irma plowed into the mostly emptied-out Florida Keys early Sunday for the start of what could be a slow, ruinous march up the state’s west coast toward the heavily populated Tampa-St. Petersburg area. “The most important thing is to pray for us,” Gov. Rick Scott said on NBC. …

Overnight open thread for Irma watchers. Here’s the latest: Hurricane Irma churned toward Florida on Saturday, leaving a trail of death and destruction across the Caribbean and prompting one of the largest emergency evacuations in American history. The National Hurricane Center said on Saturday evening the eye of Irma was beginning to slowly move away from the coast of Cuba …

The Washington Examiner reports: A “reasonable worst case scenario” forecast shows half of Key West underwater due to storm surge, according to a Weather Channel meteorologist. Hurricane Irma, a Category 3 storm as of 11 a.m., is predicted to turn away from Cuba and make landfall in the Sunshine State by Sunday morning. Forecasters say the eye is expected to …

NBC News reports: The newest projected path for Hurricane Irma shows it regaining strength after it passes Cuba and making a Florida landfall as a Category 5 storm. Irma is then expected to move over Florida and then continue through Georgia and west over Huntsville, Alabama as it loses hurricane status. With the current projected path, Irma will make landfall …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: As Hurricane Irma makes its way toward Florida, two other hurricanes are gaining strength as they near land. Hurricane Jose is now an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm. It’s still forecast to steer north, potentially avoiding any impact to Florida. It’s 535 miles east-southeast of the Leeward Islands, which were battered this week by Irma, according …

CBS News reports: The mayor and emergency managers have spoken and the people of Miami Beach listened. Thousands packed what they needed and evacuated. Friday morning the normally busy South Beach was a virtual ghost town, the businesses and hotels along Ocean Drive shuttered or boarded up for the storm. Mayor Philip Levine has urged everyone in the city to …

The Miami Herald reports: President Donald Trump’s seaside Mar-a-Lago resort has been ordered to evacuate because of Hurricane Irma, along with the barrier islands and low-lying areas of Palm Beach County. About 125,000 Palm Beach residents are being told to leave starting Friday at 10 a.m., according to the Sun Sentinel. All of Florida is under a state of emergency, …

NBC News reports: Hurricane Irma was on a track to slam Miami this weekend as it continued to cut a fatal and destructive swath through the Caribbean islands Thursday. As of 6 p.m., Miami was about 52 hours from feeling the first effects of a killer storm that has already been blamed for at least nine deaths across a string …