The Atlantic basin has three active hurricanes for the first time in seven years.
An image released by NOAA on Sept. 6, 2017, shows Hurricanes Katia, Irma and Jose.
Hurricanes Jose and Katia formed in the Atlantic basin Wednesday evening. Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful storms on record, is already barreling towards Florida where it could strike as a Category 4 or 5 storm.
“The last time that we had three hurricanes in the Atlantic basin was September 16-17, 2010,” Colorado State University meteorologist Phil Klotzbach told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
In 2010, major hurricanes Julia, Igor and Karl formed in the Atlantic basin. None of them made landfall in the U.S.
Irma is the strongest Atlantic storm outside of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. Jose is expected to track behind Irma, crossing over some of the same eastern Caribbean islands Irma passed over.
Irma is expected to hug the Florida coast, but even if it doesn’t make landfall, it could still do lots of damage. Hurricane Matthew did not make landfall, but still did $10 billion worth of damage when it hugged the Atlantic coast in 2016.
President Donald Trump and GOP Florida Gov. Rick Scott issued emergency declarations. Irma is already passing over Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, pelting them with torrential rain, high winds and storm surge.