This has been a hurricane for a few days now and the path of the storm is constantly changing. As of this post on Monday at 4PM EDT, the path of the storm is expected to continue to track West towards the Leeward Islands, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and then impact The Bahamas and Cuba. Afterwards, the storm is expected to make a sharp turn to the North and possibly impact Miami and South Florida before continuing into the United States, weakening rapidly.
The main questions to answer about Hurricane Irma's impact are: 'Is Hurricane Irma going to hit Miami?' and if it does: 'How damaging would the impact be?'.
For the first question, the majority of models at the moment do indeed suggest that the hurricane will indeed hit in or near South Florida, although some suggest that Cuba or The Bahamas would bear the brunt of the storm. Alternatively, some models suggest the hurricane may harmlessly drift out to sea, not affecting the East Coast of the USA.
For intensity, we will need to see where the storm tracks. Currently, if the storm continues on its present track, then the storm would first make landfall in Northern Cuba, where a mountain range lies. Consequently, the hope is that the storm weakens enough so that the impact on Miami is more limited than the Category 4 storm that it is expected to become by this weekend. However, there is still a chance that Hurricane Irma could strengthen further near the Caribbean where the water temperature is 31C (89F), and this could possibly mean that Miami may be in the firing line of a Category 5 super-storm.
So, could Hurricane Irma hit Miami? It is too early to tell.
