Hurricane Irma Just Became the Strongest Hurricane on Record in the Atlantic Basin

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Hurricane Irma, which is barreling toward several Caribbean islands, including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, has just broken a record.

#Irma is the strongest #hurricane in the Atlantic basin outside of the Caribbean Sea & Gulf of Mexico in NHC records https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/P8ebbQJR4k

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 5, 2017

Irma is now the strongest hurricane on record in the Atlantic basin, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm packs up to 180 mile-per-hour winds (stronger than Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts in 2005) and is forecast to remain a category 4 or 5 hurricane for the next couple of days. On Monday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for his entire state in preparation for a possible landfall there:

I have declared a state of emergency for every FL county to help state, federal and local governments work together as we prepare for #Irma.

— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) September 4, 2017