The southern United states is bracing itself for a second powerful storm to hit in as many weeks.<br /><br />Warnings have gone out to islands in the Caribbean as Hurricane Irma, gathers strength. It has already been upgraded to a category four storm.<br /><br />A Category four hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale means sustained winds of 209-251 kph with “catastrophic” outcomes, including uprooted trees and downed power lines, water and electricity outages, and significant property damage causing uninhabitable conditions, according to the Miami-based hurricane center.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />BREAKING: Hurricane #Irma triggers new #hurricane warnings for the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands: https://t.co/YfmytaEDSN pic.twitter.com/T5NDY9X6sv— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) September 5, 2017<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />In its path are the West Indies, the Virgin islands and Puerto Rico.<br />In preparation for the storm, the government of economically struggling Puerto Rico has declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard.<br /><br />Irma is due to hit Florida in a few days. <br /><br />Spaghetti from EPS 12z is > 50% chance of dangerous Cat 4 or 5 Hurricane #Irma over or very near Florida this weekend. Not good. pic.twitter.com/gyVdS0XyQA— Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) September 4, 2017<br />
