page_title: Meteorological history of Hurricane Irma
section_title: The Bahamas and Cuba
hierarchical_section_title: Meteorological history of Hurricane Irma / The Bahamas and Cuba
caption_attribution_description: English: Geostationary image of 2017's Hurricane Irma (11L) Nederlands: Orkaan Irma op 8 september 2017 door de GOES satelliet
context_page_description: Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that caused extensive damage in the Caribbean and Florida. Lasting from late August to mid-September 2017, the storm was the strongest open-Atlantic tropical cyclone on record and the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands. Classified as the ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the hyperactive 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Irma developed from a tropical wave near the Cape Verde Islands on August 30. Favorable conditions allowed the cyclone to become a hurricane on the following day and then rapidly intensify into a major hurricane by September 1 as it moved generally westward across the Atlantic. However, dry air and eyewall replacement cycles disrupted further strengthening, with fluctuations in intensity during the next few days. Irma resumed deepening upon encountering warmer sea surface temperatures, while approaching the Lesser Antilles on September 4. The system reached Category 5 intensity on the following day and peaked with winds of 180 mph shortly thereafter.
  Irma made its first landfall on Barbuda early on September 6 at peak intensity.
context_section_description: At 05:00 UTC, early on September 8, the eye of Irma made landfall on the island of Little Inagua in the Bahamas, with winds of 155 mph (250 km/h) and a central pressure of 924 mbar (27.3 inHg). The hurricane then began tracking more to the west due to the intensification of a subtropical ridge to its north. Once the eyewall replacement cycle was completed, Irma began to re-intensify, and it re-attained Category 5 intensity at 18:00 UTC that day east of Cuba, as deep convection became more pronounced and organized. The hurricane then made landfall in Cayo Romano, Cuba, at 03:00 UTC on September 9, at Category 5 intensity, with winds of 165 mph (270 km/h) and a central pressure identical to its previous landfall. This made Irma only the second Category 5 hurricane to strike Cuba in recorded history, after the 1924 Cuba hurricane – both had identical wind speeds at landfall. As the eye of Irma moved along the northern coast of Cuba, gradual weakening ensued due to land interaction, with the eye becoming cloud-filled and the intensity falling to a high-end Category 2 later on September 9 – operationally, it had been assessed as never falling below 120 mph (195 km/h), though it was lowered in post-analysis, possibly due to shoaling interfering with reconnaissance data.
  By later that night, the forward speed of Irma had begun to slow down, which allowed it to finally begin moving northwestward towards Florida in response to a complex steering pattern, which involved Irma moving around the southwestern edge of the subtropical high to its northeast and a low-pressure system that was located over the continental United States. Moving over the Florida Straits which contained sea surface temperatures of near 31 °C (88 °F), allowed Irma to quickly restrengthen, and re-attain Category 4 intensity at 06:00 UTC on September 10 while located about 65 mi (105 km) from Key West, Florida, as deep convection improved and the eye becoming better defined. By this time, the NHC anticipated Irma would maintain its intensity before making landfall in the state of Florida later that day. In addition, Irma's wind field continued to increase in size, with hurricane-force winds spanning out a region of 80 mi (130 km) and gale-force winds spanning 220 mi (350 km) in diameter.
caption: Hurricane Irma approaching Cuba late on September 8, shortly after it regained Category 5 strength
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