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This Image Of Hurricanes Irma, Katia, & Jose Brewing In The Atlantic Will Freak You Out
The Atlantic hurricane season is in full and stunning force with Hurricane Harvey hitting Southeastern Texas, leaving thousands displaced, several killed, and entire residential and commercial areas suspended in floodwater. Only several days after Harvey's destruction in Texas, another hurricane known as Irma began forming in the Atlantic ocean and now a terrifying image from The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Irma joined by hurricanes Jose and Katia. The image was taken by NOAA's powerful GOES-16 satellite, which showed all three hurricanes moving westward of the Atlantic Ocean.
Hurricane Irma is a Category 5 storm that meteorologists fear will cause "potentially catastrophic" damage in the Caribbean islands. Compared to Irma, hurricanes Katia and Jose are relatively smaller in force as the National Hurricane Center labelled them Category 1 hurricanes on Wednesday. The current placement of all three hurricanes varied on Wednesday afternoon with Katia close to the Gulf of Mexico, Jose off to the east of both Irma and Katia while Irma remained in the Caribbean.
While forecasters are keeping an eye on hurricanes Katia and Jose, all attention is on Irma — recorded as the most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane — as it has been carrying powerful winds at 185 mph and is feared to potentially target South Florida over the weekend. Due to being in the way of such a massive and potentially fatal hurricane, Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for Floridians while locals in Miami are preparing for evacuations.
Katia and Jose making debuts shortly after Irma is remarkable from a historical point of view as meteorologists noted this is the very first time in seven years that a triple threat like this brewed in the Atlantic. The last time there was a triple threat of hurricanes was in 2010 and while multiple and simultaneous hurricanes aren't new, they are certainly a rare phenomenon. Here's another image of the three hurricanes storming up in the Atlantic Ocean.
In spite of the triple-brewing hurricane madness, forecasters note that the smaller two — Katia and Jose — don't carry a strong threat for the United States. While speaking with NBC News, Weather Channel meteorologist Ari Sarsalari said of Jose, "This one doesn’t pose as much of a threat to the direct southeastern United States as Irma does." But Sarsalari did note that the Leeward Islands could suffer a unique hurricane disaster due to potentially getting hit by Irma and Jose. "The Leeward Islands would end up with another one-two punch," he said.