Evan Myers

This hurricane has the potential to be a major event for the East Coast, it also has the potential to significantly strain FEMA and other governmental resources occurring so quickly on the heels of Harvey.

Stay tuned to local government information and AccuWeather.com for timing of the hurricane’s progress, remember it is not too early to prepare to leave; pack bags, gas up you car and prepare your property now.

Kottlowski said. How fast or slow this non-tropical system moves will be an important factor on where Irma is steered this weekend into next week. The speed of this feature will determine when and how much Irma gets pulled northward or whether Irma continues on more of a westward track. This amount of uncertainty means that the entire southern and eastern U.S. should monitor Irma this week. Residents along the coast are urged to start preparing and making sure plans are in place to deal with the worst case scenario. This includes plans on how to evacuate and what is important to bring with you and your family. As we saw just 10 days ago with Harvey, it is important to be ready to evacuate, Evan Myers said. Be prepared with a list of items you would need to take if you had 30 minutes' notice or one hour's notice or six hours or a day to evacuate. Due to Irma following so closely on Irma's heels and since FEMA and other government resources will be strained, more preparation and storm aftermath may rest on individuals, Evan Myers said. It may be crucial to evacuate ahead of the storm, so preparation is key. If Irma were to make landfall as a Category 4 or 5 storm somewhere in the U.S., it would be in historical territory. The U.S. has not sustained a direct hit from two Category 4 or above hurricanes in more than 100 years.