Hurricane Irma made its second landfall in Florida on Sunday afternoon, hitting Marco Island as a Category 3 storm at 3:35 p.m. ET.
Despite being downgraded from a Category 4 hurricane, Irma is still expected to bring life threatening conditions, including fierce winds, heavy flooding and storm surge. The Marco Island Police Department reported wind gusts of up to 130 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center, or NHC.
Irma made its first U.S. landfall in the Florida Keys Sunday morning just after 9 a.m. ET at Cudjoe Key.
A photo shared by the Marco Island police showed the area inundated with water. The island’s Emergency Operations Center said it had experienced a “system wide water pressure loss” because of the storm. The center warned residents to stay inside, keep away from windows, and evacuate to a second story floor if possible.
NHC forecasters say Hurricane Irma is expected to bring severe storm conditions to central and northwestern Florida Sunday and Monday, while strong winds will also affect Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.
Floridians should expected Hurricane Irma to be an “extremely dangerous major hurricane” with “life-threatening wind impacts to much of the state regardless of the exact track of the center,” the NHC says.
Heavy rain in the state is expected to last through Tuesday and a “life-threatening” storm surge is expected to last for 36 hours.
The National Hurricane Center is continuing to update its website and Twitter accounts with new Hurricane Irma forecast and location information.
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