Ground report follows NHC update.  Thankfully the slower forward progress has moderated the most severe and extreme Irma timing with SWFL tidal impacts.  Unfortunately, Tampa and St. Pete are now in the direct impact path. Tampa Bay storm surge is a very serious concern.

At 1100 PM EDT (0300 UTC), the eye of Hurricane Irma was located near latitude 23.5 North, longitude 81.0 West. Irma is moving slowly northwestward away from the north coast of Cuba near 6 mph (9 km/h). A turn toward the north-northwest with an increase in
forward speed is expected through late Monday. On the forecast track, the center of Irma is expected to cross the Lower Florida Keys Sunday morning and then move near or along the west coast of Florida Sunday afternoon through Monday morning. Irma should then
move inland over the Florida panhandle and southwestern Georgia Monday afternoon.
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As part of FL CERT (Citizens Emergency Response Team), we are forced to reposition outside of the storm surge area.  As a consequence during the logistical move I will be out of the loop for most of the afternoon and evening.  We will respond to recovery efforts from positions East of SWFL.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to check back in and give updates later tonight.

To ensure continuance of communication, CTH has auto-scheduled posts set up throughout the next week which will run automatically without any need for human data entry.  [ie. the website is secure and will function as normal – and site admins are disbursed throughout unaffected timezones]  Other than my absence (hopefully sporadic), you should not see any disruption.
What can YOU DO?
Please pray for the people of Florida.  This is an extremely stressful time for many people, including a significant number of elderly.  Unfortunately, due to modern disconnection a considerable number of people do not have frequent contact with family.
If you know people in Florida, please just reach out to them via social media and let them know they are in your thoughts and prayers.  You don’t have to call them, your don’t need to look for a response, but a short note -just touching base- via social media (facebook etc.), with kind words, can mean the world to people who might be feeling isolated.
Trust me, I’ve been seeing and reassuring those faces all day.  It matters.
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Smart move by the Trump administration, Rex Tillerson and Nikki Haley.  After showing the United Nations Security Council members the proposed resolution against North Korea last Tuesday, they are calling for a vote this Monday.
China and Russia are already on record saying additional economic sanctions would be needed; but also pushing the request for diplomatic talks more prominently.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States called for a vote Monday on a U.N. resolution that would impose the toughest-ever sanctions on North Korea, a move that could lead to a showdown with the country’s biggest trading partner China and its neighbor Russia.
The Trump administration adopted a totally new approach with this resolution, circulating an American draft Tuesday and setting a vote six days later. With previous sanctions resolutions, the U.S. spent weeks and sometimes months negotiating the text with China and then presenting a resolution to the rest of the Security Council for a vote.
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Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert gives an update on preparations for Hurricane Irma, recovery from Hurricane Harvey, and takes questions from the press:

We are blessed to have solid leadership in key and critical positions. Tom Bossert represents one of the best.
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Taking a break to cool down in the AC and provide some understanding to the unique challenges the media appears to be missing for Hurricane Irma.
Florida is a long state peninsular 450 miles. In many logistical ways it’s more comparable to an island, with one-way in via land, from the North.
There’s never been a South to North Hurricane experienced or predicted like this.
The closest was Donna in 1960. There’s been massive population growth since then.
South Florida is attempting to evacuate North. Those who already left are running out of gas mid-state. Fuel trucks are needed mid-state to keep that traffic headed north. The fuel trucks headed into the state are stopping mid state, North of Lake O.  Port Everglades is an East Coast distribution hub for fuel via Atlantic side delivery for I-95 and Monroe County.
It is understandable, and entirely necessary; but those south of Lake O (on the West Coast) have been unable to locate consistent fuel supplies since this boxcar effect began two days ago. The state emergency teams are trying to keep the top of the line moving forward. Again, understandable. However, those South of Lake O are stuck without fuel. No-one’s fault, it’s just the way it is.  Millions of people.
Those of you who have been reading here for a few days will note the issues we outlined with a South to North Hurricane that tracks the West Coast of Florida. Unfortunately, the latest forecasts are predicting exactly that. Governor Rick Scott is trying to evacuate the South West Gulf Coast, however the fuel issues noted above are impeding that possibility.
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President Donald Trump provides a weekly address against the backdrop of one of the most potentially devastating Hurricanes ever to arrive in Florida.

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For those who might not be familiar there’s massive and widespread price gouging taking place right now in “South Florida”.   The predators know how to maneuver around the areas distant from govt offices and checks.  Florida AG Pam Bondi is calling out the individual companies and their franchise holders. THANK YOU.
CTH has had our differences with AG Bondi in the past, but she’s a wolverine on a righteous mission right now – Directly calling out 7-11 stores and Chevron.

Florida is a massive state.  Most of what we are seeing on the news is completely incorrect about “South Florida”.  There’s “south florida” (as defined by South of I-4), and then there’s “south florida” (as defined by Lake O).  There’s a considerable amount of simmering chaos in South Florida south of Lake O.
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Donald Trump Jr. testified today before the Senate Judiciary Committee.  His four page statement is included below:
Full Statement Below
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The forecasting for Hurricane Irma is still rather unpredictable. However, the entire southern peninsular of Florida is urged to hurry preparations to completion. As many long time CTH readers will note, I have zero experience with the forecasting but a great deal of experience with hurricane prep, response and recovery.

At 500 PM EDT (2100 UTC), the distinct eye of Hurricane Irma was located near latitude 20.9 North, longitude 71.1 West. Irma is moving toward the west-northwest near 16 mph (26 km/h), and this general motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days with some decrease in forward speed. On the forecast track, the eye of Irma should continue to move between Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands this evening. The core of the hurricane will then move between the north coast of Cuba and the Bahamas during the next day or two. –ADVISORY LINK–
Maximum sustained winds remain near 175 mph (280 km/h) with higher gusts. Irma is a category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next day or two, but Irma is forecast to remain a powerful category 4 or 5 hurricane during the next couple of days.
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Equifax said exposed data includes: names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, addresses, driver’s license numbers and credit card numbers.

(Via CNBC) Equifax, which supplies credit information and other information services, said Thursday that a data breach could have potentially affected 143 million consumers in the United States.
The population of the U.S. was about 324 million as of Jan. 1, 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which means the Equifax incident affects a huge portion of the United States.  Equifax said it discovered the breach on July 29. “Criminals exploited a U.S. website application vulnerability to gain access to certain files,” the company said.
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