In case anyone was in any doubt as to the severity of Hurricane Irma and The Ages of Lulu (1990)its devastating potential for Florida, the Key West National Weather Service (NWS) laid it out in simple, all caps terms Friday afternoon.
SEE ALSO: National Hurricane Center's headquarters is in Irma's path—but it's built to take a hit"THIS IS AS REAL AS IT GETS," a warning tweet screamed, accompanied by an illustration warning of "catastrophic, life-threatening wind and storm surge impacts" as the Category 5 storm makes landfall.
"NOWHERE IN THE FLORIDA KEYS WILL BE SAFE. YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO EVACUATE," it added. "Please RT."
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An NWS statement for Key West posted Friday was equally dire. It warned of an "extreme" threat to life and property, hurricane force winds of 110 mph or higher and a "life-threatening storm surge" of 5-8 feet. Forecasts now call for up to 12 feet of water above ground level in the Keys if the peak surge hits at high tide.
"Evacuation efforts should now be brought to completion," the advisory added. "Evacuations must be complete before driving conditions become unsafe."
As some people noted, the language was similar to the strong rhetoric used ahead of Hurricane Katrina.
The last time I saw a warning from NWS worded like that was for Katrina.
— Matt (@mfigroid) September 8, 2017
The NWS Key West followed up its tweet with another, quoting the National Hurricane Service that made it even starker: "It's not clear that it's a survivable situation for anybody that is still there in the Keys."
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