Irma is the first Category 5 hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic season. It is expected to make landfall in south Florida which brings up memories of another catastrophic hurricane to make landfall there - Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Hurricane Andrew made landfall as a Category 5 storm in Miami-Dade county and was one of the costliest hurricanes on record. A side by side comparison of Andrew and Irma though shows Irma is much larger than Andrew.
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By using an distance estimation tool on satellite/radar, Irma measured to be more than 400 miles wide. If Irma were to be in Ohio it would actually stretch across the whole state.
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
Irma is so big that it would go from Champaign, IL through Pittsburgh, PA, according to Storm Center 7 Meteorologist Kirstie Zontini.
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A storm this big also has a very impressive wind field.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane force winds (winds 74mph or greater) stretch out 70 miles in any direction. Tropical storm force winds (34mph-73mph) stretch about 185 miles from the center of the storm.
Even though Irma likely won't make landfall as a Category 5 storm like Andrew, it's size and ability to spread hurricane force winds across the Peninsula is what make it such a danger.
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