back with us, meteorologist bonnie schneider.e'll get an update from the national hurricane center in 20 minutes. we already have information from their last update. >> as we get closer, the consensus in the forecast will likely get stronger. what we're seeing here now unfortunately for cuba, the e eyewall on the northern end, the battering rain and winds has not relented. it's getting hard hit. currently, the center of circulation in hurricane irma, a strong category 4, moving west at 12 miles per hour. there's irma, and look at this -- we are seeing the cloud coverage. even though it's nighttime, you can't see. the overcast skies, feared bands already coming into the florida keys. the winds picking up, as well. sustained winds well over 25 to 35 miles per hour. gusts are stronger than that. this is just the beginning. it's going to get worse in the next 48 hours. if you're just joining us now, you may not have realized that some of these advisories have ovechkined all the way to the northern part of florida like jacksonville. b

i want to turn to bonnie schneider. nnie, this is about the path and that critical right turn. >> absolutely. we are just looking at a monster storm. take a look at the latest images of hurricane irma. it's 25 nautical miles wide. over 300 miles in diameter. the storm is going and ripped through the i would of barbuda earlier this morning. and the virgin islands are going to really get hit hard. the movement to the north-northwest at 16. notice the category 5 as we go into the beginning of the weekend. and we mentioned that right turn, we're getting a better idea where that's likely to occur, somewhere between saturday and sunday. keep in mind, the cone of uncertainty is still fairly wide. looking at this map, it does look like florida will receive quite an impact. we do have our watches posted for most of the islands. including cuba and we're watching as well the steering mechanisms for the storm as we get closer to the weekend. yasmin and ayman. >> any idea what category it will be if it hit flit hits flo? >> it looks

joining me now, msnbc meteorologist bonnie schneider. let's get an update on the storm, where it's going. the fact that it's tracked slightly to the west, how does that affect things overall? >> it affects things in a big way in terms of where we'll see the most storm surge, the most damaging winds. unfortunately for cuba, the storm hasn't moved yet. if you look here, there's the eye, watch it work its way to the north coast and just kind of stay there. it's been bringing torrential downpours to cuba, and hurricane-force winds as well. the eye made landfall as a category 5. that's the first time a cat 5 hit cuba since 1924. let's talk about what's happening now. the interaction with land has weakened it a bit in terms of irma. i don't think it's going to stay weak for long. location is 225 miles south of miami beach. that's where the center of circulation is. winds are at 130. it's just a category four at this point. the water temperatures as it crosses the florida straits, it's going to intensify once again and could see it get even str

bonnie schneider is back with the latest. bonnie? >> ari, this is really interesting. you can see the eye of hurricane irma interacting with cuba. the movement says it's moving to the west but a northwesterly turn is expected. you can see the gradual movement starting west and then working its way more to the north-northwest. i think in the 2:00 a.m. statement that we're about to get, we might see some change in that direction. that's important. the more it moves to the westerly direction, that's worse news for florida. let's take a look at the position and where the storm is right now. it's about 300 miles away from miami. and unfortunately it is getting closer to south florida. maximum winds 160 miles an hour. still classifying the storm as a dangerous category five. it's been a 4, but it's a 5 right now. and not much of a difference because we have those winds at 155 before. here's the latest track, you can see we're expecting a land fall somewhere in the florida keys and then a second one somewhere on the west coast of the florida. the cone of uncertainty does stre

joining me in studio, msnbc meteorologist bonnie schneider. let's get a sense of where the >> problem is the storm hasn't moved much in the past coast. looks brutal. >> it's been relentless. torrential downpours, the strong winds battering cuba over and . unfortunately it's still interacting cuba, not weakening the storm much at all, bringing a lot of torrential downpours i mentioned. storm is. let's take a look at where the . you're probably wondering what happened. hours ago we were talr irma. it was looking more likely it would be the east coast of florida that would be facing a potential landfall. well, this morning things have changed. computer models have sd further to the west. are seeing mentioned, but the track might . right now the center of circulation and category 4 irma beach. winds are at 130 miles p hour, so it has weakened a bit,. north-northwesterly movement at. let's a closer look at the track. can see how it's looking florida. a difference a day mak, because the storm had more timef landfall. earlier we were talking saturday

let's check in with nbc's bonnie schneider. what can you tell us about irma? >> it weakened a bit since the last advisory, a category 2. it's cloud filled. this is not going to last. irma will work its way over warmer waters and a more worst environment that will ignite it again to a major storm. right now 1500 miles east of the leeward islands. the west early movement continues. the shift to the more southwesterly movement. look in the days to come, category 4 hurricane, even by monday as a category 3. where is the storm going to go beyond five days and why is there so much uncertainty. a lot of dynamics in the atmosphere that can move it one way or another. if we have a weaker ridge, that would allow irma to turn to the north. if this ridge of high pressure over the atlantic is stronger, that would push the storm further to the west and not turning to the north fast enough. plus, we also have this jet stream -- this is another uncertainty. we don't know how strong or how weak the jet stream will be. if it does get stronger and dip further to the south, it ca

now lets archipelago get over to nbc meteorologist bonnie schneider. we were mentioning a second ago storm surge is our big worry right now. the big thing is the latest advisory says probably about a third of what they had estimated before. >> it kpochl been a lot wor-- c been a lot worse for familiar pau. heavy rain for jacksonville, as well as orlando, florida. they're getting the brunt in the overnight period. plenty of heavy rain in coastal georgia. savannah is about to go from bad to worse with a lot of rain bands just now working their way to the north. the storm has picked up a little bit in terms of its movement. it is now moving to north, northwest at 15. but is it still has a ways to go. center circulation 20 miles west of lake land, category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds at 85 miles per hour. flood advisories posted for jacksonville because of all that heavy rain and a tornado watch including gainsville, florida up through brunswick, georgia. that will continue through the morning hours. let's ta l likely through the morning, that cou

bonnie schneider with us still, msnbc meteorologist. fference as you saw there, bonnie, because we've been watching phillip's shorts. he's got a jacket now, rain is coming down, and there's going to be a reason why it's under mandatory evacuation. >> that's part of the reason we're saying how large this storm is. it's still 275 miles south-southeast of miami. where phillip is, that's north of miami. so he's experiencing some of the winds already. i want to update everyone on the hurricane warnings. they extent pretty far north now. key west under a hurricane warning. that eyewall coming on shore on some of the northern tier areas of cuba, so cuba is getting the brumt of it. so category 5, 270 miles south-southeast of miami. the maximum sustained winds are at 160. this storm is holding on to its intensity. you think maybe it would weaken, but the water temperature is too warm. so we are anticipating the potential for a weakening, but still a major hurricane. landfall is possible in the florida keys. perhaps a second one on the coast of fl

we have bonnie schneider joining us at the top of the hour to give us an update on what's happening with that hurricane and the path of the hurricane, telling you what you need to know right now. if it's too late to get out, if you decided to hunker down. we're going to give you everything you need to know. we have correspondents fanning across the state. also, telling you all the happenings that are going on in florida. all that and more when we come back after the break. keep it here, everybody. msnbc. we'll be right back. >>> good morning. >> msnbc world headquarters. it is 6:00 in the eastern. 3:00 a.m. out west. here's what's happening. hurricane irma now a category four storm as it comes within 275 miles of miami. the outer bands already visible from the florida keys. a storm now predicted to travel up florida's west coast with hurricane force winds across the entire state before heading inland towards tennessee. >> over five million people in florida are under mandatory evacuation orders. many standing in long lines to get into shelters like this one here in miami. county official

. >>> first, as we head to break, the national weather forecast from bonnie schneider. >> good morningtracking hurricane irma, a massive category 5 storm with winds 185 miles per hour sustained. just incredible as the storm bears down on the islands including barbuda getting the brunt of it. a category 5 maintained through the turks and caicos, and watching where that turn will be towards the u.s. that northerly turn will mean a difference for the track. it is uncertain at this time the steering mechanisms, the high pressure over the atlantic, and of course that right turn i mentioned, will it go towards the gulf or further off to the atlantic one thing to note is the time to make those preparations is now that's a look at your bunesiss travelers forecast more "worldwide exchange" when we come back i love you, couch. you give us comfort. and we give you bare feet, backsweat, and gordo's... everything. i love you, but sometimes you stink. soft surfaces trap odors. febreze fabric refresher cleans them away for good. because the things you love the most can stink. and plug in febreze to k

>> let's get the latest on hurricane irma, of course, with meteorologist bonnie schneider standing by for us. >> you are hearing that edwardo. >> disappointing. >> miami beach in the path of this hurricane. yeah, it's pretty scary stuff that he had decided to stay there. >> is it disappointing because of how severe this is? >> i think no matter how many times they say it, there are people that will just stay. we've seen this in fire hurricanes. i'm thinking back to 2004 to hurricane charlie that some people wait and wait, and then it's too late, and they have to be rescued. i'm hopeful that won't happen this time. if they say to evacuate, always follow orders. >> i remember covering hurricane sandy as well. there are a lot of people emotionally attached to where they live, and they want to stay and you think hadar down. they think, oh, it's never going to be as bad as they say it's going to be. sometimes it's not. a lot of times it is. >> yes. absolutely. i always believe in preparing for the worst because you don't want to be stranded where you have no resources. somebody has to resc

. >>> let's turn now to bonnie schneid whoev schneider who is looking at where maria is today. >> after making landfall in puerto rico, maria is not done yet. the eye of the storm is offshore. the center of circulation is north of the dominican republic. but you can see the rain bands coming into that island right now. unfortunately for puerto rico even though the storm is moving away we're dealing with the flash flooding. it's just incredible the rainfall totals. some up to 40 inches. but the latest is it's a category 3 storm moving slowly to the northwest at 9 miles an hour and we'll watch for the storm to work its way away from the raging bull next on "early today" today, on a thursday. today, on a thursday. 1,200 workers are starting their day building on over a hundred years of heritage, craftsmanship and innovation. today we're bringing you america's number one shave at lower prices every day. putting money back in the pockets of millions of americans. as one of those workers, i'm proud to bring you gillette quality for less, because nobody can beat the men and women of gillette.

. >>> let's turn now to bonnie schneid whoev schneider who is looking at where maria is today. >> after making landfall in puerto rico, maria is not done yet. the eye of the storm is offshore. the center of circulation is north of the dominican republic. but you can see the rain bands coming into that island right now. unfortunately for puerto rico even thou away we're dealing with the flash flooding. it's just incredible the rainfall totals. some up to 40 inches. but the latest is it's a category 3 storm moving slowly to the northwest at 9 miles an hour and we'll watch for the storm to work its way away from the islands eventually. that's a look at the weather story of the day and now here's a closer look at the day ahead. temperatures are cooling down in northern new england and soon it will feel more like fall in the weeks to come. but not the case in the nation's midsection. look at that. some spots in the 90s. it's still summer, almost. so we're looking at the track taking maria over the open waters of the atlantic, maintaining a major status over the weekend. >>> the extra airline