As most Osceola County residents and visitors are already aware of, Hurricane Irma has strengthened to a Category 5 storm packing winds of 180 mph. It’s final path has yet to be determined, but it’s now expected to slam the Caribbean and possibly the U.S. mainland later this week.

Irma continues to build in the Atlantic Ocean and Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands could begin to see its powerful winds and rain by the end of the day, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Currently the storm is located about 220 miles east of Antigua and moving westerly at about 14 mph.

Irma is currently on track to arrive in South Florida by Saturday, and then the next question is whether the ferocious storm will take that sharp turn north through the end of the weekend and beginning of next week towards Central Florida and specifically Osceola County.

The concern for Osceola County is that there is a large area of high pressure, and a trough that might steer Irma to the north during the weekend.

Osceola County Commissioner Fred Hawkins Jr. will be sharing information from the upcoming Emergency Board of County Commissioner’s Meeting which will take place today at 3pm.

Positively Osceola is encouraging everyone to fully prepare for Irma now. Proper preparation means safety. Kissimmee Utility Authority still has copies of its Hurricane Handbook available at its Kissimmee Office, or you can simply download a digital version to your phone by visiting KUA.com