after making landfall twice in florida, irma weakens to a category 2 storm, but the hurricane will soon spin up the gulf coast and cause even more damage. >> i'm david culver in south florida where we are already seeing significant damage left behind by hurricane irma and it's not even done. we'll take you here in a live report. >> and the new irma advisory just came in. storm team 4 meteorologist samara theodore standing by with an update. news 4 begins now with storm team 4. the location, isla more ada on the florida keys. irma turning tree into tree into twigs.

storm's wrath. location, palm bay in central florida. a possible tornado destroyed or damaged several homes and officials are trying to figure out if anybody was hurt there. there are numerous tornado warnings throughout the area. location, miami. irma's winds take down a second construction crane downtown. the cranes were supposed to withstand 145 mile-an-hour winds, but that did not happen. below the cranes, you can see riding floodwaters and the storm surge that we've been talking so much about. we want to show you live pictures of clearwater florida. folks here are bracing for that storm. good evening. i'm erica gonzalez. take a look at irma. it's not as strong as it was, but it is still posing a major threat tonight. samara theodore joins us from the storm team 4 weather center with what we know now with the

hung up on the category size. >> yes, irma is starting to lose its intensity a bit, but it's still a very strong storm. in fact, take a look right now. you can see there the eye began to wobble and we're starting to fill in a little bit and that does indicate it is losing its intensity and cat 2, very strong especially riding up the west coast. i want to zoom in here and show you where the core of the storm is right now. this is the northern eye wall. you can see the eye completely filling in at this point, but that northern eye wall, that's where you will see the fastest wind speeds and the heavy rain coming down and it is just south of fort myers right now. i can only imagine the conditions in fort myers will rapidly deteriorate within the next hour or so here. right now the new track came in at 5:00 p.m. and moving very quickly up the coast at 14 miles per hour. notice witness it hits the tampa st. petersburg area it's expected to be a cat 1 storm, but the major concern i have f

will talk more about that later on in the show so i want you to stick around for that. for now, back to you. >> thank you, somara. it made landfall as a category 4 earlier this morning. jay gray is in fort myers that you heard somara talking about where they're getting the worst of it right now. >> ravaging the keys early. irma is unleashing its fury across the state. hurricane-force winds tearing away roofs, tossing aside signs and testing the limits of almost everything in their path including two massive construction cranes seemingly hanging by a thread. driving rains mixing with a storm surge that continues to push water into places it's never been before includingic brel avenue in downtown miami. water also covers the only road

homes along the intercoastal canal in fort lauderdale. >> thinking of another, we're worried about our friends. you can't help, but worry. >> this couple was pulled from their sail boat by sheriffs deputies near west palm beach as the storm and waves poured in. >> it's my home and it's everything i own and i was doing everything i could to save it and it just got out of hand. >> fema continues to monitor the situation ready to deploy assets and coordinating their response from washington. >> our mission here at the federal level in support of local efforts is very simple. wherever hurricane irma goes will be their first, where irma is going next is tampa, dogs played along the empty shoreline earlier and the winds that pulled away from the coast expected to shift, creating a surge that could push the bay

jay gray, nbc news, naples. the gusts have been further apart, but the damage is still leaving its mark in southeast florida. news 4's david culver is live in sunrise, florida, in broward county with more on the effects of the torrential wind there. tell me about your day and what you guys have been up against. >> reporter: hi. we've done a lot today, eric a i can tell you that myself and my photojournalist making the rounds and certainly the wrath of this is where jay gray was, but here, the warning from officials is that this is still very serious. you saw what happened in miami just south of us. those cranes. the winds here have been strong, upwards of 90, at times 100 miles an hour and you can see that we're having stronger winds coming through right now as you look at some of the palm trees, but let me show you the real effects of this and we'll show you video here of the storm surge and this is near fort lauderdale's coastal.

the ocean and it looks like the ocean when you see the white caps and how that water is going into what was a park and flooding that park and that was a few hours ago. we actually had to get out of there because it was getting too high. let me show you some of the damage now on the streets. this is why authorities here are telling folks to stay off the streets. this is a traffic light that came crashing down on what is a very popular strip, broward boulevard in fort lauderdale. nobody hurt because nobody was around it, but we even noticed an officer pull up and he said there was nothing he could do at the time and he continued on and then you can see what the storm is doing when it comes to some of the beach areas and we were only here for a short time. as you can see, some of the strong winds and sand erosion this near fort lauderdale's a1a causing some of the roads to be covered with the sand and debris making for short travel and police were staying off the roads just because for them it was just too dangerous and not worth it. so their warning to folks

there are calms that come, but don't be com placent and relax. that is the warning for folks here. erica, i can tell you that people are asking about a sense of normalcy. when do you get back to that? broward county schools where we are they say they'll be closed indefinitely. thai don't even have a timeframe as to when they'll reopen and that's because the schools are being used as shelters and the staff and families have evacuated. >> all right. david culver in sunrise, florida for us. we know you guys are not out of the thick of things yet so please stay safe for us and we'll check back in with you later tonight. in cuba, let's show you this video. it is a rescue mission as people are stranded in floodwaters. waves breached the sea wall. state officials say waves were 22 feet high at the shoreline. hundreds of thousands are without power. dozens have been rescued and

million people in cuba have been evacuated. all right. we want to take you live now to fort myers, florida. this is on florida's gulf coast and is getting ready for a pounding from irma. we've got much more live team coverage on the storm, but first -- >> i'm carol maloney live at fedex field. the 2017 season opened with a thunderbird fly over and ended with a flock of eagles flying out of here. another season-opening loss this time to the division rivals. what happened and what now? we'll have that story coming up. and on the flipside of that, the nats division champs. more from the

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here at home we go to breaking news in bethesda where a person has died in a house fire. news 4's darcy spencer is live on danbury road. darcy, what can you tell us about the scene going on there? >> reporter: erica, i can tell you that montgomery county fire and rescue just updated us that a man died in this fire and they were challenged with hoarding conditions inside the home and this is danberry road and the scene up the hill from where i'm standing and this is where police and firefighters are letting us go right now. firefighters got the call here from 4:00 this afternoon. one victim was ae

we are told that he lived inside the home, but then firefighters found a second victim apparently, the victim's friend in the basement. he was pronounced dead. we just spoke to a fire official about those hoarding conditions. >> so the reports that i'm getting from the firefighters that went in the home is spivenlgly in the basement. they were described what was called hoarding conditions where there was lots of boxes and materials and stuff like that piled up which made it very difficult for them to get in and search. it also added to the fire load. >> reporter: it's still a very active scene in fios is not cable. we're a 100% fiber optic network.

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more than 1.5 million customers are without power in florida from hurricane irma and help to restore power is coming from pepco employees. as news 4 explains gratitude is only part of what is driving workers to head south. >> last-minute checks, equipment and supplies and the things they'll need into the wake of the storm. >> i already heard it's over 00,000 customers off. >> utility companies will be taxed to their limits and that's where these crews will go to work. >> we participate in mutual assistance group and that's something valuable to the utility industry. >> in all, 250 pepco employees will make this

they volunteered for this. >> i don't know what to expect. i might not go on the next one. >> this mobile command center will be their headquarters and they can say they're towing around a field office. >> they'll also learn from this trip. >> if it ever does happen here we'll have some guys on our system that are ready to jump in. >> reporter: and there's the gratitude. >> when we arrive, they clap. the refrigerators are down so they cook food and they try to feed you. >> reporter: that's not what drives them to make this drive. there's something else. >> a sense of pride, probably mostly up mostly. in upper marlboro, derrick ward, news 4. dozens helped pack meals for senior citizens and they had fun doing it. our own barbara harrison was at the aarp meal packing challenge on the national mall. she caught up with one volume tear from florida who drove here to escape the hurricane in florida. sherry helped compelled to come down and do her

some kind of way. i'm not there to help, but i am not the hero. it's the people that are here that are the hero that are helping out and the people that are helping out in florida. >> volunteers hit their goal of 1 1/2 million meals when they continue their challenge tomorrow. >> storm team 4 meteorologist joining us now and the new track. the track hasn't shifted, but the intensity of irma has. >> still on track for tampa, and however, that intensity has dropped down a bit, but i don't want anyone to get caught in categories. this is still a very strong storm and it's driving up the west coast to florida. in fact, let's take a look right now. it came into contact with the northern edge of cuba and so the eye wasn't able to regoal op like it could have and we saw it jump up as expected and you can see here in this imagery, we're beginning to lose the

storm. not only that, there's been dryer air out toward the gulf that it's been feeding in. don't get me wrong, it's still a cat 2 and it's very strong. zooming in, i want to talk about where we're starting to see the strongest winds as well as the heaviest rain. fort meyers right now, they're seeing conditions there begin to deteriorate rapidly because they're entering the northern edge of the eye wall. another thing with this is you get the outflow boundary and a lot of the wind are moving outward toward the water and you may see the bays and canals moving down which you are on the ground which i hope you're not, but the thing is on the back end of this storm, that's when twee get the in flow boundary and all of that is getting pushed back in. areas in naples, we have to watch for them because they could be experiencing the most devastating part of the hurricane which is the storm surge and the potential storm surge level for areas like naples up towards fort myers and greater than nine feet. i saw some forecasts come in anywhere from ten to 15 feet of storm surge and another a

the category, once it hits there is about one so it is dropping, but you have to understand with the bay that's going to see the water push back to the bay. i know they have the general tampa hospital in the bay. so that's something we'll have to watch very closely. they are looking at about three to six feet of storm surge. let's go ahead and take a look at the newest track and sometimes it gets stuck here. a cat 2 storm by 2:00 a.m. when it's expected to head toward the tampa region and it's still impactful and riding up through the peninsula at about a one and the track is less definitive and then it will be going towards a tropical storm and remnants which may be impacting us during the middle of the week. let's transition to the forecast here at home and the temperatures expected to drop into the mid-50s. another cool night ahead and 40s out toward the suburbs. as far as tomorrow goes i think i'll get a lot of sunshine out there and temperatures are expected to be in the mid-70s and the clouds moving in on the back end of the day and that's because they'll start to see

into the area tp take a look at the ten-day outlook and tuesday a and wednesday is when you can expect the light showers. >> still ahead, a sloppy start for the redskins and the fios is not cable. we're a 100% fiber optic network. and with the new fios gigabit connection... you get our fastest... internet ever. with download speeds up to 940 megs - 20 times faster than most people have. switch to fios gigabit connection with tv and phone for $79.99 a month online for the first year. plus hbo for one year and multi-room dvr service for two years, all with a two-year agreement. and switching has never been easier. get out of your contract with up to a $500 credit to help cover your early termination fee. go to fiosgigabit.com

this is the xfinity sportsdesk. >> the nationals are the champions of the national league east! >> he throws and it's spencer cox who takes it in for the eagles touchdown! >> a big day in d.c. sports ending in a division title for the nats in a disappointing start for the redskins. carol maloney is live at fedex field. i want to start with the party that's going on right there that we all wish we could be a part of rid now. >> i know. i'm in the dry and quiet confines of fedex field. i feel bad because we sent sherry in there and i forgot to tell her to take the poncho. first time they clinched the division title or playoff trip

the nats did their part with the win today and fans and player his to wait around to watch the braves beat the marlins and it was official and that happened in extra innings and this is what it sounded like for the guys from massen. >> wait a minute! wait a minute! oh! walkoff homer! walkoff homer! the nationals are the champions of the national league east! >> you see your guys out here. how good is it? >> it's great! just a wild bunch right now. let them be wild, you know what i mean? they earned it. everybody contributed from top to bottom. we had a bunch of injuries and nobody made any excuses and nobody in the alibis that got in late. the guys are -- --

oh, yes! i love this team! i mean, these guys they love each other and that's what i like. >> so how did the nats do it today, heroes day at the ballpark, dusty, a former marine chatting with the u.s. military before the game. no score in the 6th. trey turner in the bottom of that inning, and next batter, adrian sanchez and he's coming through. remember the lineup, mostly backups today and that's an rbi double for sanchez as turner comes in to score and our favorite part of the play and the bubble blowing by sanchez, and on the mound, steven strasbourg dazzling strikeouts gives up ten hits, no runs and nats going to win 3-2. they have 19 games to play before the playoffs officially begin, but congrats to the nats. now

knew they had their chances to record their first w and season opener since 2012, but sloppy play and some familiar issues doom them again. let's take the tape and they trailed this one 13-0 to start. in the second quarter, things turn around and carson wentz, intercepted by ryan kerrigan, the showstopper returns for the redskins first score of the game and they're down 13-7. later in the quarter and the offense coming through and kirk cousins finding chris thompson and thek this out. how does thompson stay on his feet? remember, he signed an extension earlier this week and that is looking like a good move and they take a 14-13 lead and none bigger than right here. two minutes to go down five. cousins under pressure, hit, fumbles, and fletcher cox returns it. 20 yards to the house and play

cousins, two fumbles and one interception and eagles win it 30-17 as the redskins lose their fifth straight season opener and snapping a five-game winning streak over the eagles and again, 30-17 is the final. >> it just kind of sucks that we can't get these wins in front of our home crowd. we want to be 8 and 0 in front of our fans. we've just got to find a way to get it done. that's all it is. we've just got to find a way to execute and make the plays we need to make. >> we're not hitting had the panic button. of course, this sucks, but at the same time we've got to take away the positives in this. we've got to correct that and we've got to correct that fast. >> we have four turnovers and 8 for 10 on third down and they don't have to look at the stat sheet very long to see who lost. >> the redskins will have to wait to get that first w here at home because they go

offensive coordinators l.a. rams. that's next week while the nats open a series against the braves tomorrow and we'll have to give a big, old thank you, atlanta for making today so special. back to you. >> carol maloney. carol, we've got to do better next time for our girl. how are you going to send her out there with no goggles and no poncho? we need to work on that. thank you, ma'am. see you later. >> that is it for us this evening. we are out of time. "nightly news" is coming up next

fios is not cable. we're a 100% fiber optic network. and with the new fios gigabit connection... you get our fastest... internet ever. with download speeds up to 940 megs - 20 times faster than most people have. switch to fios gigabit connection with tv and phone for $79.99 a month online for the first year. plus hbo for one year and multi-room dvr service for two years, all with a two-year agreement. and switching has never been easier. get out of your contract with up to a $500 credit to help cover your early termination fee. go to fiosgigabit.com ralpand i sponsoredralph northam, canthis adfor governor narrator: ed gillespie says dr. ralph northam doesn't show up? dr. ralph northam was an army doctor and a volunteer medical director at a children's hospice. he passed the virginia law requiring concussion standards for school sports. the smoking ban in restaurants. and dr. northam is working to connect veterans to good paying jobs in virginia. ed gillespie is a washington dc

tonight, irma's fury. florida under assault at this hour by a monster hurricane pounding almost the entire state. the ferocious winds, the driving rains, the floods expected to get much worse. widespread damage and destruction, including giant cranes toppled, shelters at their limits. tonight, more than 2 million homes and businesses without power. the big fear now, a storm surge along the gulf coast that could reach 15 feet or higher, and the strange effect that sucks the water out. tonight, our teams are in the thick of it, as the storm churns north in a state of high anxiety. "nightly news" begins right now. >> announcer: hurricane irma, this