Category 1 Hurricane Irma: Storm Downgraded, Trouble Still In The Air

MIAMI, FL — Hurricane Irma has been downgraded to a Category 1 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Category 1 hurricanes have maximum sustained winds of 74 to 95 miles per hour. With Irma's sustained wins topping at 85 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center, it now ranks as a category 1.

They said the damage from a category one storm includes:

"Very dangerous winds will produce some damage: Well-constructed frame homes could have damage to roof, shingles, vinyl siding and gutters. Large branches of trees will snap and shallowly rooted trees may be toppled. Extensive damage to power lines and poles likely will result in power outages that could last a few to several days."

As of 2 a.m. Monday, Sept. 11, over 3.6 million Florida residents were experiencing power outages after the Florida Power and Light company restored power to almost 493,000, according to their website. The monster storm — nearly 400 miles across — is now a category 1 storm and has turned towards Orlando. Almost the entire state was put under a hurricane warning as the storm approached, leaving snapped trees, sparking power lines and a 4-to-6-foot storm surge.

In Miami and Miami Beach, curfews were in place through Monday morning, and 869,730 customers were without power in Miami-Dade County early Monday, plus another 668,160 in Broward County. In total 3,612,130 Florida Power & Light Company customers were in the dark.

“Please stay inside,” was the simple message Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez delivered at a 2 p.m. Sunday press conference. While a storm surge of 4 to 6 feet is causing flooding in parts of the county, the area was spared the worst of Hurricane Irma’s muscle.

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With massive power outages and widespread street flooding in the area, Miami-Dade County public schools decided they will be closed and all activities canceled on Tuesday, Sept. 12. Meanwhile, the University of Miami says the earliest classes will resume will be Sept. 18.

Watch: Hurricane Irma Officially Arrives In Florida

Florida Light and Power spokesman Rob Gould said at 5:30 p.m. that 21 percent of the state’s utility customers are without power. He said they can’t put workers on the streets yet, but more than 17,000 utility workers from across the country were positioned around the state ahead of the storm. Irma’s shifting course has meant crews had to move to get into the damaged areas.

“This is going to be a very, very long restoration, arguably the longest in U.S. history,” Gould said.

Miami-Dade police issued a stern warning to looters, saying in a tweet that they had made numerous arrests already, are patrolling and won't tolerate criminal activity as the community recovers.

28 arrests so far for burglary/looting. Our officers remain on patrol and the curfew is in effect until 7am. #HurricaneIrma
— Miami-Dade Police (@MiamiDadePD) September 11, 2017

Irma's shift to the west took some of threat away from the Miami area, and amped up dangers to the West Coast of Florida, especially the Tampa area. Miami-Dade County is still under a hurricane and storm surge warning. Hurricane conditions are expected within the warning area.

The county will be under a curfew beginning Sunday at 7 p.m. and lasting until Monday at 7 a.m. The curfew was extended to last daily. Police will stop people on the streets to ask them why they are out, Gimenez said.

The Miami-Dade countywide curfew has been extended to be effective daily from 7 PM until 7 AM. https://t.co/JYPIpK8AE6 #Irma
— Miami-Dade County (@MiamiDadeCounty) September 11, 2017

Miami International Airport will be closed Monday after officials said the airport endured winds of nearly 100 mph and significant water damage throughout. The airport is not a designated storm shelter during a storm, and anyone in the airport may need to be evacuated to shelters.

@iflymia will be closed on Monday September 11.
— Emilio T Gonzalez (@emiliotgonzalez) September 11, 2017

Officials reassured residents Sunday afternoon that Miami-Dade County's water supply is safe to drink. If significant water pressure is lost, residents should boil water before using it.

When a Key West woman realized her due date was precariously close to the arrival of Irma, at its angriest a Category 5 storm, she fled to Miami, where she delivered a healthy baby girl at a local hospital. When it came time to leave the hospital Saturday, Miami-Dade County police escorted the new mom and her daughter to a hotel, where they will ride out the storm. The baby’s name? No, it’s not Irma, but one infinitely more poetic — Nayiri Storm.

From 6 to 8 inches of rain had fallen in parts of the Miami region shortly before 5 a.m. Sunday, with outer bands of heavy rain from Hurricane Irma moving north across South Florida. These outer bands will continue to affect the area throughout the day, bringing significant amounts of rainfall to much of the region, says the National Weather Service. Communities likely to experience flooding include Miami, Hialeah, Fort Lauderdale, Naples, Homestead, Pembroke Pines and Hollywood.

As Irma's early effects were felt in South Florida, a crane collapsed on top of a high-rise building under construction on Biscayne Boulevard.

On Sunday, the Miami-Dade public school system announced that schools would be closed on Tuesday as well.

Total rainfall from the hurricane will range from 8 to 15 inches, with some areas receiving 20 inches. This excessive rainfall will lead to widespread areal flooding across most of South Florida.

While South Florida has yet to feel the worst of Hurricane Irma's wrath, some 280,000 Florida Power & Light customers in Florida's eight most southern counties had already lost power as of early Sunday morning, a company spokesman told MSNBC at 5:30 a.m. Crews from around the country moved into Florida ahead of the storm, and repairs were made to restore power Saturday night into Sunday even as winds intensified. FPL has 4.1 million customers in the affected areas of South Florida.

Replacing poles, wiring and substations damaged by winds and storm surge would essentially mean the utility must rebuild its entire system in the coming weeks. "We're looking at millions (without power), there's no question about. This is a really nasty storm," spokesman Rob Gould said.

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Miami Curfew

A citywide curfew took effect at 7 p.m. in Miami and was to remain in effect until 7 a.m. Sunday. A similar curfew for the city of nearby Miami Beach went into effect at 8 p.m. and was to remain in effect until 7 a.m. as well. Meanwhile, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said he had no plans to impose a countywide curfew on Saturday night.

The curfews coincide with the arrival of Tropical Storm force winds in parts of Miami-Dade County and as some 660,000 residents of the county are under mandatory evacuation orders. Curfews were also in effect in nearby Broward and Palm Beach Counties though the city of Boca Raton has reportedly said that the Palm Beach curfew did not apply to its residents.

In imposing a curfew for his city, Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado said that the city has experienced power outages combined with deteriorating weather conditions and a number of homes that have been left vulnerable as people evacuated the area ahead of Hurricane Irma.

"We know of several areas of the city of Miami without electric power," Regalado said on Saturday. "Of course the police will be outside within the city as much as they can, but we feel that there are many houses that are empty because people have gone to other places and we need this kind of order so we can protect the residents and of course the first responders of the city of Miami."

Under the city's emergency declaration signed on Friday, city police may stop people they encounter on the street and ask them to explain their business.

• See also: Hurricane Irma: Is It The Disaster Experts Fear For Tampa Bay?

Forecasters say Irma’s hurricane-force winds extend out 70 miles from the center, while tropical storm-force winds reach out 205 miles.

See also:

• Hurricane Irma: Curfews Underway In Miami, Miami Beach
• Hurricane Irma: 253K Without Power In South Florida
• Hurricane Irma: Where To Find A Shelter With Space
• 4 Worst Threats To South Florida From Hurricane Irma
• Hurricane Irma: South Florida's Calm Before The Storm And Pizza Too
• Hurricane Irma: No Entry To Key Biscayne
• Hurricane Irma: Is It The Disaster Experts Fear For Tampa Bay?
• Hurricane Irma: Key Biscayne Officials Won't Go Door To Door

On Thursday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott warned about Irma’s size. “This thing is bigger than our entire state,” Scott said during a press conference. “Take this thing seriously.”

Graphic via the NASA Facebook page