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Hurricane Irma timeline: Path and landing projections

Posted at 8:02 AM, Sep 05, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-06 08:33:47-04

Hurricane Irma has been churning through the Atlantic for nearly a week, and in that week, forecasts have shifted and changed every day.

One thing that hasn't changed is the fact that this is going to be a major hurricane no matter where it goes.

Forecasters have a fairly good idea where it's going in the next few days. It's after that when things start to become questionable.

WEDNESDAY: Irma has begun moving through the Caribbean, bringing life-threatening wind, storm surge and heavy rain to the Virgin Islands, St. Martin and other northern Leeward Islands.

THURSDAY: The Dominican Republic, southeastern Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and Haiti will begin to feel the effects of a major hurricane as early as Wednesday night, and those conditions will last into the early Friday morning hours.

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FRIDAY: The rest of the Bahamas and Cuba are next in line for catastrophic hurricane conditions. Dangerous winds, storm surge and heavy rains can all be expected.

SATURDAY and SUNDAY: Irma is still forecast to be at least a Category 4 over the weekend as it travels just north of Cuba. Near the end of the weekend, it'll likely begin to take a turn to the right toward the United States.

When and where the storm makes its hard right turn is still a big question needing answered. The European model has a later turn and takes the storm along the Gulf Coast of Florida. Meanwhile, the American GFS model takes the storm up Florida's Atlantic Coast. The National Hurricane Center is currently splitting the difference and taking the storm up the middle of the state.

While some of these potential paths are far worse than others, a lot can change over the course of a week. Forecast predictions on days four and five are off by an average of 175 and 225 miles, respectively.

Regardless of where exactly this storm travels, it's one to watch with potentially catastrophic results.

Follow Storm Shield Meteorologist Jason Meyersvia the Storm Shield appon Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Download the Storm Shield Weather Radio App for your iPhone or Android device and get severe weather alerts wherever you are. Named by Time.com one of the best weather apps for your iPhone.