Hurricane Irma️ Category 3 storm slowly turns to Florida

Hurricane Irma's strong winds and outer rain bands lashed the Florida Keys on Saturday as the Category 3 storm pushed toward the state amid dire warnings of devastating gales, heavy rain and a potentially deadly storm surge.

With sustained winds at 125 mph, Irma slowly began turning from Cuba's northern coast up into the Florida Strait on Saturday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center said.

Florida's southwest coast from Cape Sable to Captiva could see "catastrophic" storm surge flooding of 10 to 15 feet, the hurricane center said, while the area around Tampa Bay could see five to eight feet of storm surge.

"This will be a devastating storm for central Florida, Tampa, Fort Myers, Naples (and) all the way down to Key West," CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said Saturday afternoon.

As Irma barrels toward Florida, as many as 26 million people in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba could be exposed to destructive winds and torrential rain, the Red Cross said, with 1.2 million people already battered by the storm.

UCJ, UNILORIN.