Hurricane Irene Update: 11am

Good news! The entire Florida peninsula is out of the forecast cone concerning Hurricane Irene. As of the 11am advisory, Irene is still classified as Category 2 storm with winds sustained at 100 mph, with higher gusts. It's movement is still to the W/NW at 12mph, a shift to the NW is expected by Wednesday as Irene bears down on the Bahamas as a major hurricane, with a landfall by Saturday somewhere along the Carolina coastline. With Irene well to the east of SWFL, impacts should be minimal. Late Wednesday & Thursday we will see our winds pick up a bit with the possibility of a few scattered storms, with slightly drier conditions for Friday as Irene starts to pull away.