The eye of Hurricane Irma, the Category 2 hurricane that made landfall on the Florida mainland at Marco Island shortly around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, is now moving toward Sarasota and into Central Florida.
Shortly before 10 p.m. the core of the storm was near Port Charlotte, after sitting just east of Fort Myers earlier in the evening. Forecasters say the storm is likely to follow a similar northern trajectory on its way to Tampa.
The storm, moving north around 14 mph, is expected to weaken as it pushes along the Florida Peninsula. But National Weather Service forecasters say Irma's large and powerful circulation will likely maintain hurricane strength well though Monday morning.
Up to four inches of rain is expected to fall with the storm every hour, with more expected in the inland areas. FPREN meteorologist Jeff Huffman says the most reliable model for rainfall will see the bulk of the precipitation fall west of I-75, with isolated amounts in North Central Florida in 8-10 inches (an amount matching what fell in some parts of Southwest Florida earlier Sunday).
Huffman adds a large rain shield continues to drop large amounts of rain in Southwest Florida, compounding the threat of “catastrophic storm surge flooding” posed by the combination of rain and storm surges. Warnings call for an excess of ten to 15 feet of surge above ground level is expected in areas along the southwest Florida coast.
Forecasts say flash flood warnings remain in effect all along Treasure Coast, Southwest Florida, and the Florida Keys. Tornado threats remain in areas along areas of the Atlantic coast through Monday.