Historic Hurricane Irma has rewritten storm history in the Atlantic Ocean, setting records for its windspeed and its long-lasting Category 5 status.
As the storm continues to travel through the Atlantic, the first to feel the storm's wrath have been tiny Caribbean islands and the northern Leeward Islands.
Many of these locations experienced catastrophic damage. Winds gusted to 161 mph at Saint Maarten on Wednesday morning, with a wind gust up to 155 mph recorded in Barbuda, before the instrument stopped functioning.
SEE ALSO:Hurricane hunters see 'stadium effect' inside Irma's eyeOne of the remarkable scenes that played out on Wednesday has been the wide, nearly calm eye of the storm engulfing these comparatively tiny islands, as if swallowing them whole.
Satellite images showed this happened in Barbuda, which was unlucky enough to take a direct hit from the monster storm.
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
In addition, the same thing happened in Antigua and St. Martin, which were both inside the eye at the same time.
The storm's eye has been remarkably clear, with a so-called "stadium effect" of clouds surrounding it, containing the storm's fiercest winds. This ring of storms, known as the eye wall, is what brought Category 5 hurricane-force winds to these islands.
Tweet may have been deleted
The storm has set records as the 2nd-most intense Atlantic hurricane in history, the storm with the longest duration of 180-mile per hour winds or greater in the Atlantic, and the strongest storm to ever hit the Leeward Islands.
According to the Washington Post'sCapital Weather Gang, it's also the most intense Atlantic storm to strike land since the Florida Keys hurricane of 1935.
(责任编辑：休閑)
'The Flying Bum' aircraft crashes during second test flight
People are weirded out by 'creepy' interview with New Zealand's PM
Leslie Rose is strict with Kit Harrington about 'Game of Thrones' spoilers
Uber Express Pool: cheaper rides, as long as you don't mind walkingCat gets stuck in the most awkward position everWe asked linguists if Donald Trump speaks like that on purpose
Donald Trump may do a good "drunk uncle at Thanksgiving" impersonation at his rallies, but amid all
...[详细]Why Maybelline deleted a tweet about abandoning Snapchat for Instagram
Maybe it's a joke? Makeup company Maybelline — arguably most famous for its slogan "Maybe she'
...[详细]Trump finally tells the truth: Darrell Hammond does do a better impression of him than Alec Baldwin
Early Friday morning, while markets reeled over his tariff announcement and Russia unveiled new miss
...[详细]Lyft offers free rides to March For Our Lives rallies
The deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, last month isn't f
...[详细]Pokémon Go is so big that it has its own VR porn parody now
Behind every great entertainment property there's a cheekily named porn parody. Super Hornio Bros. G
...[详细]Even Fox News is embarrassed by this rap video made by Utah lawmakers
Millennial advisory warning: this video features corny imagery, subpar rhythm, and men who resemble
...[详细]Even Fox News is embarrassed by this rap video made by Utah lawmakers
Millennial advisory warning: this video features corny imagery, subpar rhythm, and men who resemble
...[详细]You can now explore a magical 'Harry Potter' exhibit on Google Arts & Culture app
Google is bringing a world of magic artefacts into the digital space.SEE ALSO:Please enjoy this dram
...[详细]MashReads Podcast: What makes a good summer read?
Summer is coming to a close and that means one thing -- last-minute vacations!。SEE ALSO:'Ice Cream B
...[详细]Waves from weekend nor'easter cause damage in Caribbean
This weekend's storm reserved its full might for southern New England, where winds gusted to 93 mile
...[详细]Donald Trump's tangled web of Russian influence
Twitter's new bookmarks feature takes the ambiguity out of likes
