South Florida has its eyes on Hurricane Irene, which strengthened from a tropical storm over the week-end and became the first hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic season.
Heavy rains were dumped on the Leeward Islands and strong winds forced the closure of airports in St. Kitts and the British Virgin Islands.
Earlier on Monday, Irene strengthened over Puerto Rico to become a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hours. Forecasters expect Irene to strengthen as it heads toward the Dominican Republic today.
At least one forecast has Irene heading in the direction of the Florida peninsula arriving by Thursday or Friday, with maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour.
