The Florida Keys are expected to be whacked with winds of more than 110 mph from Hurricane Irma as early as daybreak Sunday, according to forecasters.
Irma was lingering over the northern Cuba coast on Saturday.
Its forward speed has slowed to 9 mph and has yet to make the expected big northward turn toward Florida yet.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center's latest forecast — which still can change a bit and has a margin of error of dozens of miles — projects Irma's potent eye to make three landfalls into Florida.
- First, there's a projected Sunday morning hit in the Lower Keys
- Later, after moving over water, Irma is expected to come ashore around Cape Coral or Fort Myers
- From there it is predicted to steam inland go over the highly populated Tampa Bay region
- Then, Irma is projected to briefly go back out to the Gulf of Mexico and then hit north of Homosassa Springs for a third landfall.
In the following days, Irma is forecast to head through Florida and Georgia into Tennessee.