September 5, 2017

Hurricane Irma Just Became the Strongest Hurricane on Record in the Atlantic Basin

The storm is speeding up.

Hurricane Irma, which is barreling toward several Caribbean islands, including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, has just broken a record. 

Irma is now the strongest hurricane on record in the Atlantic basin, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm packs up to 180 mile-per-hour winds (stronger than Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts in 2005) and is forecast to remain a category 4 or 5 hurricane for the next couple of days. On Monday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for his entire state in preparation for a possible landfall there:

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PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

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