we can join our bbc presenter tomasz schafernaker, who can join our bbc presenter tomasz schaferna kerr bbc presenter tomasz schafernaker, who is normally in the warmth of the studio, but is now facing the elements on a balcony in tampa. how did tampa cope right in the path of the storm? well, actually, we are sheltered from the wind here. the eye of the storm is very close, it is actuallyjust passing tampa now. we have had hours and hours of relentless strong winds, andi and hours of relentless strong winds, and i think in the last couple of hours or so we saw the worst of the weather. we were actually outside in front of the hotel where we are stating, observing all of this weather. the best way to describe it, it may not best way to describe it, it may not be so obvious to our viewers, but it does really sound like there is a freight train summer in the distance, just constantly going and going. —— somewhere in the distance. 0ccasionally going. —— somewhere in the distance. occasionally we can see the sky lighting up blue in the distance, i think those are the transformers which are

tomasz schafernaker.ear from the british virgin islands and anguilla about the death toll after irma passed through the islands is that five people have died on the british virgin islands. 0ne people have died on the british virgin islands. one in anguilla, and we are told the death toll in the caribbean area is as many as 20, but some reports suggesting it will be more, of course, with aid and rescuers. 0f more, of course, with aid and rescuers. of course, not being able to get a complete picture of what has happened yet. let's get a little more on how the british virgin islands has been affected. nick cunha, who is a resident there, told me what people are doing to prepare themselves for the arrival of hurricane jose. really, people are still trying to gather supplies. some of the stores are open, some of the roads are open. 0n are open, some of the roads are open. on account of the community, they are pulling together. open. on account of the community, they are pulling togetherlj open. on account of t

meanwhile, bbc weatherman, tomasz schafernaker, was also in the region. was having them on camera in location worth it? and were they at risk? i thought the bbc update of hurricane irma was really informative and very well covered. however, the evacuation of six million people was there for a reason. the national guard and the sheriffs telling people to stay inside and stay safe was there for a reason. so why did we have the bbc sending tomasz schaferna ker and will grant out into the hurricane area to stand in the street and get thoroughly rained on? was this a case of sensationalism over safety? there may, of course, have been safety measures in place which the audience could not see. i once hung onto a correspondent‘s ankles, out of shot, while he stood on the edge of a cliff. and the bbc points out that reporters are often sheltered by a wall or building that can't be seen on screen. they say coverage like this is a good way of safely showing the audience the strength of the wind. but is it? well, for me it isn't. and if that were the case, then why d

tomasz schafernaker from the bbc weather team is in naples in florida. what is going on there?es and that is an area which lies directly in the path of hurricane irma's worst part of the storm, so the core, whether really destructive winds are and whether storm surge will come through. we have left that area now because as the governor said staying there is almost suicide because of the water that could ravage that area. we are leaving and are now approaching fort myers, which also lies in the path of the co re which also lies in the path of the core of the storm. we are going to be having a look at the shelter, a stadium which has been opened here. this is a hurricane shelter which is almost like a last resort for anybody that has decided to stay over they should be able to take shelter here in the stadium in fort myers, which is, as i say, in the path of the storm. we are hearing so much about the storm surge. can you ta ke much about the storm surge. can you take us through the mechanics that? why is there are so much fear and warning being issued about this element of a hur

bbc weather presenter tomasz schafernaker is in the tampa bay area in florida which is expected to feelrce in the next few hours. how are things over there? we are fine. the weather is certainly not, it is going downhill. i'm sure you can see it is raining, the winds are starting to pick up as well. we are en route to our shelter which is a hotel in the tampa bay area. this area is at risk of at least some parts, being flooded by the storm surge. the eye of the storm is battering the keys but the storm is still some 200 250 miles to the south of us. the eye of the storm is with the worst of the winds and rain is. that area travel is relatively slowly, around ten or 15 miles an hour. if it is around 250 miles south of us, you can imagine it will take all day before tampa bay feels the full force of this storm. not many people on the roads. we are heading to a safe place and it does look as though many people have heeded the warnings. we have travelled throughout florida reporting on this in the last day and most of the people we have come across have left their properties and headed to s

time to bring you the weather forecast with tomasz schafernaker. today. rain and cloud in many western parts of the uk over the morning and the west will keep most of the cloud and the occasional outbreaks of rain through the course of the day. you can see east anglia and the eastern coast of the uk staying dry through the afternoon and it may not be until well after midnight before that rain reaches norwich and hull for example and when it does, it willjust be spits and spots. tonight, cloudy and murky and spots. tonight, cloudy and murky and muggy. temperatures falling no lower than 16 degrees in the south. grey and damp tomorrow with additional rain later on, moving into the north—west and then clouds probably will break up so temperatures will respond, possibly getting up to 22 or 23 in the south. you should hello. this is bbc news. the headlines. north korea says it has successfully tested a hydrogen bomb that could be loaded onto a long—range missile. the regime said its test of the bomb — which is many times more powerful than an atomic bomb

that is by my colleague tomasz schafernaker.s at 0ne, so it's goodbye from me — and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. good afternoon. now offer a look at the sport. andy murray has announced that he's unlikely to play again this season. murray has been badly affected by a hip injury for a few months now, and he hasn't played since he was knocked out in the quarter—finals of wimbledon. he posted on social media that he was confident that after an extended period of rest and rehabilitation, he'd be challenging for grand slams again next season. he plans to return at the brisbane international, which starts on new year's eve. at the age of 37, venus williams has become the oldest semi—finalist in us open history. she beat petra kvitova in a real thriller — it took over two and a half hours and the deciding set went to a tie—break. kvitova only returned to the tour three months ago after the knife attack that damaged her playing hand — and williams said it felt like a "special match". this match means a lot t

we can speak to tomasz schafernaker, who is there in tampa.solutely horrendous but also quiet. absolutely. it's quiet, the streets are deserted, most people are now riding out the storm in the hurricane shelters, and that could bea hurricane shelters, and that could be a hotel or a designated area that is hurricane proof. we are standing very close to the place we are staying in the hotel. also we are standing just buy a building, which is sheltering us from the really vicious gusts of wind you can see further out. it is literally in the last ten, 15, 20 minutes that the winds have been really picking up. this is just the winds have been really picking up. this isjust the beginning of hurricane irma here. they have rich tropical storm force. even for me, it is hard to believe that the ai of the storm, the core of the storm, which is expected to pass in this area is eight hours away. so we are going to be getting this weather for at least eight hours, building and building up the hurricane force. and then quite possibly another number of hours

bbc weather‘s tomasz schafernaker is there, and sent this.pretty we are pretty much now at the height of the storm. believe it or not, i'm being sheltered by some of the buildings here, so i'm not feeling the full force of the wind. i can't tell the strongest of the winds are further down the street, i can see trees lying down, i will certainly not venture were the strongest error currents are blowing through. here you cannot see but in front of me is the hotel, so this is pretty bad but certainly not the worst. and one thing that we are certainly hearing is this occasional roar between the buildings, so you definitely cannot say that irma is roaring through downtown tampa. the storm has lost some intensity — it has now been downgraded to a category1 hurricane — but it remains deadly. here's matt baker from the bbc weather centre. this one storm has now generated more cyclonic energy than all the storms you normally get through hurricane season in the us. some of that energy has dissipated to devastating effect in the north of cuba as it pass

let's speak to bbc weather‘s tomasz schafernaker who's in tampa in florida.situation there now? we can see the wind and the rain. what does it feel like over there?” can tell you it is quite an experience. in the last few hours, the wind has dramatically died down. the rain has eased. the visibility has improved. were just the rain has eased. the visibility has improved. werejust an hour or so, especially two hours ago, this place was roaring with. it wasn't like the uk, it was a persistently powerful wind with occasional higher gusts. and then the windward final between the buildings, causing a roaring sound. there is a tree down here. it is a big palm tree. the power is often the hotel. i have been riding out the storm in it. we have been given flashlights. some of oui’ have been given flashlights. some of our equipment has been affected. we are using torches to light me up. i am looking at the app to see where the eye of irma is. initially it looked like it was pulling away. but 110w looked like it was pulling away. but now i see we are looked like it was

meanwhile, bbc weatherman tomasz schafernaker was also in the region.acuation of six million people was there for a reason. the national guard and the sheriffs telling people to stay inside and stay safe was there for a reason. so why did we have the bbc sending tomasz schaferna ker and will grant out into the hurricane area, to stand in the street and get thoroughly rained on? was this a case of sensationalism over safety? there may, of course, have been safety measures in place which the audience could not see. i once hung onto a correspondent‘s ankles, out of shot, while he stood on the edge of a cliff. and the bbc points out that reporters are often sheltered by a wall or building that can't be seen on screen. they say coverage like this is a good way of safely showing the audience the strength of the wind. but is it? well, for me it isn't. and, if that were the case, then why didn't the newsreader in the studio not tell viewers that before the outside broadcast was given? it would have saved giving countless people like me sort of palpitations, wor

bbc weather‘s tomasz schafernaker is in tampa in florida — earlier, he sent us this update. now at the height of the storm. believe it or not, i'm being sheltered by some of the buildings here. so i'm not feeling the full force of the wind. i can tell that the strongest of the winds are further down the street. i can see tree limbs lying down. i certainly won't venture out where the strongest air currents are blowing through. here, you can't see, but in front of me is the hotel. so this is pretty bad, but certainly not the worst. and one thing we are hearing is this occasional roar between the buildings. so you definitely can say that irma is roaring through downtown tampa. rachel schofield is in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the rest of the day's news. the brexit secretary, david davis, has warned mps that voting against the european union withdrawal bill later today would amount to backing a "chaotic" exit from the eu. labour says it will oppose the bill, claiming it represents a "power grab" by ministers. mr davis said the british people "did not vote for confusion"

tomasz schafernaker from the bbc weather team is in naples in florida.f the areas that has been highlighted as facing the risk ofa been highlighted as facing the risk of a possible direct hit from irma. what if you find their? well, we arrived earlier on today. we drove from fort lauderdale across the everglades into naples. i have to say it is a very eerie calm before the storm here. naples is facing a potential direct hit according to the national hurricane centre and the national hurricane centre and the biggest concern in this part of the biggest concern in this part of the world is of course the storm surge. where i am currently standing, we are at about maybe a0 feet above mean sea level and the storm surge as you are indicating earlier has been upgraded to possibly maybe 15 feet. so where i am standing right now, within the next day, the water could potentially be running through this entire area. this entire area could be underwater completely as we are not far away from the coastline itself. it is eerily quiet, notjust because the weather has no

we can speak to our weather presenter, tomasz schafernaker, who has made his way to tampa. from what you've seen so far, it looks like mainland united states got off comparatively lightly from this storm? yes, that's absolutely right. we have been driving around florida for the last few days, finding out how people have been preparing for the storm, and we ended up in tampa. the tampa bay area around saint petersburg, and the kind of destruction we have seen around here is mainly to trees. behind me there is mainly to trees. behind me there isa is mainly to trees. behind me there is a clear is mainly to trees. behind me there isa clearup is mainly to trees. behind me there is a clear up operation of a tree which fell on a house. what you cannot see immediately is that there isa car cannot see immediately is that there is a car crushed underneath the tree. this isjust a microcosm of what's happening around the area. fortunately a lot of the debris has already been cleared off the road, so already been cleared off the road, so things are slowly... i wouldn't necessarily say b

bbc weather's tomasz schafernaker has all the details we area we are a part of the season so no surprisesy. we also have tojose regain affecting the reason. maria potentially turning into a very powerful allocating over the next 48 hours. domenico could be in the front line for the cordoba storm as it moves through the ireland is the worst part of the storm oozed turbo perhaps misses the islands. perhaps a bit too to say. what happens beyond that? it is not exactly the same path as irma but it is the same region. as it heads towards puerto rico there was a lot of warm water and the favourable environment for the atmosphere for it to intensify. then it might pass the dominican republic amending the south east part of the bahamas. irma try it this way and hugged cuba. this one is curling a little bit forward towards the north. the problem is these islands which have suffered so badly from irma england to another storm which could reach category three of four which is powerful enough to cause a lot of traction and with that will come the storm surge and with that a lot of rainfall. still so