Hurricane Irma is rewriting meteorological history as it tears across the Caribbean, swallowing islands in the process, destined for a not-so-welcome rendezvous with the Southeast coast of the U.S.
The storm is tied for the 2nd-most intense hurricane on record in the Atlantic, and has kept up an astonishing intensity — featuring maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour — for more than 24 hours straight.
Until Irma, only Hurricane Allen in 1980 stayed at that intensity for nearly as long — 18 hours, according to hurricane researcher Philip Klotzbach of Colorado State UniversityNo eastern Pacific storm has accomplished this feat either. Read more...
More about Climate, Science, Global Warming, Extreme Weather, and Climate Changevia Zero Tech Blog
