As Texans begin to pick up the pieces after being left devastated by hurricane Harvey, a new tropical storm has now formed over the Atlantic Ocean and is ‘steadily intensifying.’
Tropical storm Irma is currently located over the far eastern Atlantic Ocean and is expected to become a hurricane by Friday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory on Wednesday.
The storm is located about 480 miles west of Cape Verde Islands and is packing maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour, the NHC said.
As Texans begin to pick up the pieces after being left devastated by hurricane Harvey, tropical storm Irma (above) has now formed over the Atlantic Ocean and is ‘steadily intensifying’
Tropical storm Irma is currently located over the far eastern Atlantic Ocean and is expected to become a hurricane by Friday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center
The storm is located about 480 miles west of Cape Verde Islands and is packing maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour, the NHC said
The present movement is west at 13 mph and the general movement is expected to continue for the next few days.
‘There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect,’ the Miami-based weather forecaster added.
In addition, officials said Irma poses no immediate threat to land at this moment, but it’s too early to tell if Irma will hit the United States.
The storm is expected to take about a week to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
Irma is now the ninth named storm this busy hurricane season.
The present movement is west at 13 mph and the general movement is expected to continue for the next few days.
In addition, officials said Irma poses no immediate threat to land at this moment, but it’s too early to tell if Irma will hit the United States
National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration forecasters said the Atlantic Ocean’s 2017 hurricane season will likely be above normal, with 11 to 17 named storms, five to nine hurricanes and two to four major storms.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has warned residents that the worst of Hurricane Harvey is not over and that it will take months for the state to recover from its devastating floods.
‘The worst is not yet over as far as the rain goes for southeast Texas. There’s more to come,’ he said at a press conference on Wednesday where he described the catastrophe as being ‘far larger’ than Katrina or Sandy.
Experts are calling Harvey, which has brought the heaviest rainfall in US history, the worst natural disaster the country has ever seen. Above, a home in Houston on Tuesday which is now entirely underwater
Emergency crews continued to work in Buffalo Bayou, Houston, on Wednesday to rescue stranded residents from Hurricane Harvey’s flood waters
In what experts are describing as the worst natural disaster in US history, more than 30,000 people are in shelters across Texas and at least 31 people have been killed as a result of the devastating floods.
In one area of Houston alone there were another 17 deaths reported on Wednesday.
The death toll is expected to rise dramatically as the waters recede. ‘I’m worried about how many bodies we’re going to find,’ Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said on Tuesday as he mourned the loss of one of his own officers who drowned trying to get to work.
The cost of the damage, which includes 500,000 ruined cars, is likely to total $160 billion. The Texas Department of Safety revealed on Wednesday that 48,700 homes had been impacted by the floods.