Overview

2017 Hurricane Irma is a powerful, Category 5 tropical cyclone threatening to hit the southeastern United States and Caribbean Islands in September of 2017.

Background

On August 30th, 2017, Irma developed off a tropical wave that moved off the west African coast on the 28th.^[1] It rapidly intensified, going to a Category 3 hurricane in only a couple days, and was officially classified as a Category 5 hurricane on September 5th, 2017. On the morning of September 6th, it reached peak intensity, with winds up to 185 mph, tying it for the second most intense hurricane in Atlantic hurricane history.

Developments

Online Reaction

Prior to the hurricane hitting land, internet users joked about the storm in myriad ways. For example, as of September 6th, over 52,000 people are attending a fake Facebook Event created by Joshua Stanaland titled "Everybody Points Their Fans At The Hurricane To Blow It Away."^[2]

The Miami New Times^[3] covered the spread of Irma memes, noting several examples that matched the name of the hurricane with Ermahgerd memes (examples shown below). Heavy.com^[4] also covered the spread of Irma memes.

Search Interest

External References