Hurricane Irma becomes Category 3 storm
MIAMI -- Far out over the Atlantic, Hurricane Irma has turned into a Category 3 storm, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory. It poses no immediate threat to land.
Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 115 mph with higher gusts. Irma is moving toward the west-northwest near 12 mph. This motion is expected to continue today, followed by a westward turn on Saturday, and a west-southwestward motion by Sunday.
Irma formed along a course that could bring it near the eastern Caribbean Sea by early next week. The storm's center was about 650 miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands off the west coast of Africa Thursday morning.
Irma is expected to be an extremely dangerous hurricane for the next several days.
Where is Hurricane Irma going to hit?
CBS Dallas / Fort Worth's meteorologist Jeff Jamison says computer models for Irma differ on where the storm makes landfall. Only 10 to 15 percent of hurricanes located where Irma is have struck the United States.
Irma comes on the heels of Hurricane Harvey, which struck the Gulf Coast of Texas on Friday. Thousands have been displaced by the storm due to torrential rain and flooding.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Lidia bore down on the Los Cabos resorts at tip of Baja California Peninsula Thursday, while spreading rains over a broad swath of Mexico.
Mexican authorities warned residents of the lower Baja to prepare for high winds, heavy rain and a dangerous storm surge.
Heavy rain also was reported falling on southwestern Mexico and the hurricane center said Lidia could produce total accumulations of as much as 8 to 12 inches across much of Baja California Sur state and western Jalisco state on the mainland, threatening flash floods and landslides.
Lidia had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph Thursday morning and some strengthening was possible before landfall. Its center was about 90 miles south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas and it was heading north-northwest at 8 mph.
