Hurricane Irene threatens South Florida - Hurricanes

Irene became the season’s first hurricane early Monday, raking Puerto Rico with 75 mph winds and churning on a track that appeared likely to leave it largely unscathed by the mountains of Hispaniola.

That could allow Irene to strengthen, potentially into a major hurricane, before it approaches the mainland United States later this week.

At 8 a.m., Irene was beginning to move away from Puerto Rico and was expected to skirt the northern coast of Hispaniola later Monday. The heavily populated Southeast Florida coast was near the center of the forecast cones for later in the week but the National Hurricane Center stressed Irene’s path remained uncertain and it could make landfall anywhere from the Florida Keys to the Carolinas.

Most computer models steered Irene just off the coast of Florida, with the storm’s eye looming off Miami-Dade and Broward counties early Friday, but they varied on the timing of an anticipated turn that will be the key to where — and whether — it would make landfall. A wobble one way or the other in the next few days could mean the difference between a close shave for South Florida and a direct hit.

“Don’t just pay attention to the skinny black line,’’ stressed Dennis Feltgen, a National Hurricane Center spokesman. He urged South Florida residents to monitor the storm carefully, double check supplies and review hurricane plans.

Despite crossing Puerto Rico, Irene gained strength and appeared much better organized overnight.

Rain bands and gusty winds flood streets and left tens of thousands without power outages in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico and shut down the airport in San Juan, packed with passengers stranded by canceled flights.

Maria Antonia Ordonez, 59, said she secured the shutters of her house in historic Old San Juan after inviting neighbors over for dinner and wine.

"You can hear the wind, the gusts are relentless," she told The Associated Press. "I can’t see anything because I’ve closed everything."

Forecasters said Irene tracked more to the north than originally expected, taking it directly across Puerto Rico but also putting it on a path that would likely skirt the highest mountains in Hispaniola, which had broken up Tropical Storm Emily earlier this month. If that happens, Irene would move into warm waters and atmospheric conditions that could fuel a significant increase in wind speeds.

“It would not surprise me if this cyclone became a major hurricane at some time during its lifetime,’’ wrote senior hurricane specialist Stacy Steward in the center’s 5 a.m. analysis.

Haiti and the Dominican Republic were bracing for impacts. The Dominican Republic, which saw bridges and roads washed away by Emily, could again see damaging deluges.

In Port-au-Prince, the government put residents on red alert and urged the half-million still living in makeshift tent communities a year after a devastating earthquake to seek shelter with friends and family. The U.S. Navy ordered its hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, which had been stationed off the city for months, to steam for safer waters until Irene’s passage.

Strong winds and rain were battering the outlying Puerto Rican islands of Culebra and Vieques, where 150 tourists were evacuated, according to Gov. Luis Fortuno. At least 120,000 people were without power and another 13,000 without water as the storm approached.

via miamiherald.com