Hurricane Irma made its first landfall in the Caribbean early Wednesday as the Category 5 storm rolled toward a string of islands en route to a likely strike on the south Florida coast this weekend
By 11 a.m. ET, Irma was about 140 miles east of San Juan, Puerto Rico, packing maximum sustained winds of 185 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. It was moving toward the west-northwest at 16 mph.
Here’s what Houstonians need to know about Irma:
It’s not coming here - At this point in time, Irma is looking like a Florida and southeast U.S. storm, with no immediate threats to the Gulf or Texas coast.
Property in south Florida - If you have friends, family and/or property in south Florida, now is the time to make sure proper preparations are being met.
Keep an eye on the forecast - Be sure to check back with KHOU on a day to day basis because it is subject to change beyond the five-day outlook.
Extremely dangerous core of Hurricane #Irma closing in on the Virgin Islands. https://t.co/JX426wReY7 pic.twitter.com/Rsa0cF5oxq
— NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) September 6, 2017
RELATED: Irma an extremely dangerous, 185-mph Category 5 storm
The U.S. State Department warned Americans to reconsider travel to Cuba, Haiti or the Dominican Republic due to the expected impact of Irma.
U.S. Navy officials, however, decided not to evacuate the Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, on Cuba's eastern tip, but did order an evacuation of non-essential personnel at Naval Air Station Key West.