Hurricane Irma roars into the Caribbean on a path toward Florida

The most powerful hurricane ever recorded over the Atlantic Ocean made landfall on islands in the northeast Caribbean early Wednesday and could possibly reach South Florida by the weekend. The U.S. National Weather Service said the eye of Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm, passed over Barbuda around 2 a.m. and was nearing the islands of St. Martin and Anguilla this morning. The meteorological office in the Dominican Republic recorded winds speeds of up to 183 mph on St. Martin. In Barbuda, high winds ripped off the roof of a police station and knocked out communications between islands. Irma currently is moving westward along a path that includes Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, and possibly Florida. Florida Gov. Rick Scott warned state residents at a Wednesday morning news conference not to ignore evacuation orders. “I can’t stress this enough,” he said. Early Wednesday morning, another tropical storm, Katia, formed in the Gulf of Mexico off the Mexican coast. It has sustained winds near 40 mph and could strengthen in the coming days, according to the National Hurricane Center. Another tropical storm farther east in the Atlantic, Jose, is expected to become a hurricane by Wednesday night.