(CNN) While much attention remains on Texas and the destruction left by Hurricane Harvey and its historic rainfall , powerful Hurricane Irma is rapidly intensifying in the open Atlantic and poses a major threat to the Caribbean and potentially to the United States next week. 
 
 Satellite image taken at 8 a.m. ET Friday shows Hurricane Irma in the eastern Atlantic 
 
 With the storm still five days away from the outermost Caribbean islands and at least a week away from any potential US impacts, there is still a lot of uncertainty about where it will go. 
 
 The range of possibilities presented by the forecast models more than a week out literally spreads from Mexico to Canada -- and everywhere in between. 
 
 Good bet at a casino is an intense Hurricane Irma at Cat 4 or 5. But it's still red or black on U.S. impacts. Hope it's a "fish storm" pic.twitter.com/w6rWbbGVts 
 
 Irma was designated a tropical storm Wednesday morning, and by Thursday afternoon, it had strengthened into a large Category 3 hurricane, with winds of 115 mph. 
 
 Such explosive strengthening is known as "rapid intensification," defined by the National Hurricane Center as having its wind speed increase at least 30 knots (35 mph) in 24 hours. 
 
 "Irma has become an impressive hurricane," the National Hurricane Center said Thursday, noting the rapid intensification. "This is a remarkable 50 knot (58 mph) increase from yesterday at this time." 
 
 Hurricane Harvey underwent rapid intensification just before it made landfall late last Friday, strengthening quickly from a tropical storm into a Category 4 hurricane when it moved onshore near Corpus Christi, Texas. 
 
 Hurricane kryptonite not in the mix 
 
 Irma is a classic " Cape Verde hurricane ," a type of hurricane that forms in the far eastern Atlantic, near the Cape Verde Islands (now known as the Cabo Verde Islands), then tracks all the way across the Atlantic. Cape Verde storms frequently become some of the largest and most intense hurricanes. Examples are Hurricane Hugo, Hurricane Floyd, and Hurricane Ivan 
 
 Hurricane Irma is forecast to continue to strengthen as it moves westward over the next five days, and the official forecast from the National Hurricane Center puts a dangerous Category 4 Hurricane Irma on the doorstep of the Caribbean by the end of the five-day forecast on Wednesday. 
 
 #Irma has continued to strengthen over the eastern Atlantic and is now a major hurricane. Details at https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/gRAl1hzRnN — NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) August 31, 2017 
 
 A strong high-pressure ridge to the north of Irma, over the Atlantic, is steering the storm to the west and limiting the wind shear in the upper levels of the atmosphere, which has allowed the storm to grow so quickly. Wind shear is like hurricane kryptonite, and prevents storms from forming or gaining strength. 
 
 Unfortunately, Irma will remain in a low-shear environment for the next several days, so there isn't much hope that Irma will weaken any time soon. 
 
 There is considerable confidence that Hurricane Irma will track to the west through the weekend and then take a slight jog to the southwest early next week in response "to a building ridge (of high pressure) over the central Atlantic." 
 
 From there, the forecast becomes a lot less clear, with some major differences among some of the key models meteorologists use to forecast hurricanes. The differences are so drastic that one prediction has Irma sliding harmlessly back out to sea, while in another, it makes multiple disastrous landfalls in the Caribbean and likely hits the United States after that. 
 
 Dueling prediction models 
 
 The European model, or ECMWF, and the American GFS model have had some notable showdowns before, most notably with Hurricane Sandy. 
 
 With Sandy, the ECMWF correctly predicted a landfall in the Northeast nearly a week ahead, while the GFS continually kept the storm offshore in what became a major black eye for the US weather-modeling industry . There have been other examples in which the GFS model has outperformed its European counterpart, such as with a few major snowstorms in the Northeast. 
 
 Right now, the GFS has Irma taking a more northerly track that curves to the north before it reaches the Caribbean, thus making a US landfall much less likely. 
 
 The European model keeps the storm tracking further west, nearing the Bahamas by the end of next week. 
 
 European vs American weather models 
 
 "The ECMWF sees a much stronger ridge or Bermuda High (than the GFS) which forces Irma west, whereas the GFS has a weaker ridge and a more rightward, parabolic track," said Ryan Maue, a meteorologist with WeatherBell Analytics. 
 
 "The prospects for major impacts anywhere from Cuba to Carolinas is concerning for this very reliable model," Maue said. 
 
 Irma is still more than 1,700 miles east of the Leeward Islands, and any impacts from the storm wouldn't be felt until Tuesday or Wednesday for the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico. 
 
 The forecast picture should become clearer after the weekend. 
 
 Bottom line: Hurricane Irma is already a powerful hurricane and looks to only become more so. Those with interests in the Caribbean and southeast US coast should pay close attention to the forecast. ||||| Irma may become Category 4 hurricane while tracking across Atlantic; Will it affect the US? 
 
 You will be redirected to the latest story on Irma in a moment. 
 
 While the Gulf Coast continues to deal with the devastating impacts of Harvey, emergency managers in the United States have another tropical threat to monitor by the name of Irma. 
 
 Far across the Atlantic, west of the Cabo Verde Islands, Irma is a Category 3 hurricane. 
 
 "There is the potential for Irma to ramp up to an even more powerful hurricane into early week," according to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski. 
 
 
 
 
 
 "While fluctuation in strength is likely, we expect Irma to become a Category 4 well before it reaches waters near the Lesser Antilles," Kottlowski said. 
 
 A Category 4 hurricane has sustained winds of 130-156 mph (209-251 km/h). 
 
 Subtle changes in water temperatures and atmospheric conditions, such as slightly drier air and a small patch of strong winds aloft, can cause significant fluctuations in strength in even the strongest of hurricanes. 
 
 As of early Sunday morning, Irma was located about 945 miles (1,520 km) east of the Leeward Islands with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h). 
 
 Irma will take about a week to make its trek westward across the Atlantic Ocean. Meteorologists will likely be tracking this storm through the middle of September. 
 
 "All interests in the eastern Caribbean will need to monitor the progress of this evolving and dangerous hurricane," Kottlowski said. 
 
 "Surf will begin to build on the east-facing beaches in the Leeward and Windward islands into early week," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. 
 
 How much seas, surf and winds increase during the first part of the week will depend on the exact track of Irma. 
 
 “Steering winds will guide Irma close to the Leeward Islands and then perhaps Puerto Rico and Hispaniola during the middle days of the week,” according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Brian Thompson. 
 
 
 
 
 
 "While the hurricane is strong, it is relatively small in size at this time," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. "Should this small size continue, severe effects from the storm may be limited to a radius 50 miles (80 km) of the center, while the storm moves through the tropics." 
 
 Locally heavy showers and gusty thunderstorms may extend beyond 100 miles (160 km) from the eye and could bring torrential rain and flooding to the islands. 
 
 Beyond early this week, there is a wide range as to where Irma may go and the storm may grow in size. 
 
 Plenty of atmospheric factors highlighted by non-tropical systems will come into play to determine its path. These non-tropical systems will be moving around. 
 
 "At this early stage, it is unclear whether a non-tropical storm will draw Irma toward the U.S., push it away or miss affecting it entirely prior to the middle of the month," Kottlowski said. 
 
 Possibilities range from a landfall from the northern Caribbean islands to Florida, the Carolinas or Bermuda. There is also a chance the system curves northward and avoids North America entirely. 
 
 "At some point this week, Irma will begin to take a more west-northwest path," Kottlowski said. "Whether Irma then continues to curve northwestward and then northward or remains on a steady west-northwest path is uncertain." 
 
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 AccuWeather hurricane center 
 
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 How to help: Donate to assist Harvey victims reeling from the storm's catastrophic damage 
 
 AccuWeather predicts Hurricane Harvey to be more costly than Katrina, Sandy combined 
 
 Reports: Water supply cut off for entire city of Beaumont, Texas, amid Harvey’s horrific flooding 
 
 More details on the path of Irma will follow in the coming days. 
 
 Residents who live along the East Coast or have interests in the Caribbean Sea should take time to review emergency procedures and make sure they are prepared for extreme tropical conditions. 
 
 Cruise and shipping interests may need to adjust their route as Irma approaches. 
 
 Report a Typo ||||| This post has been updated as of Sept. 5, 10:30 am. 
 
 In the aftermath of the devastating Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana, forecasters are keeping a close eye on Hurricane Irma, a category five storm that’s in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean quickly approaching the Leeward Islands and heading west. 
 
 How dangerous is Hurricane Irma? 
 
 The storm is traveling about 14 miles per hour (22 kilometers per hour), and is expected to hit the West Indies Tuesday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center. The full effects of the hurricane will hit around 2 am local time. 
 
 Already, Irma’s winds have reached 175 miles per hour (282 kilometers per hour). The storm has grown substantially stronger from Monday, when maximum wind speeds were 115 miles per hour. Hurricane warnings have been issued for the Lesser Antilles islands, Puerto Rico, and the British and US Virgin Islands. 
 
 CNN’s meteorologist Brandon Miller said that Irma is a fairly typical example of a “Cape Verde storm,” which start brewing over the east coast of Africa in an area now known as Cabo Verde. Hurricanes start off as thunderstorms that result from low pressure air systems over warm waters. They gather wind strength as higher pressures quickly move in to fill in the low pressure areas. Cape Verde storms have their entire trip across the Atlantic to gain wind power, which makes them some of the strongest hurricanes. 
 
 Other Cape Verde storms have included Hurricane Hugo, a devastating storm that took a similar path in 1989 and Hurricane Floyd, which hit the east coast of the US a decade later. Irma’s travel time across the Atlantic has meant that the storm has had time to gather more energy than Hurricane Katrina in 2005—possibly one of the strongest storms in recorded history. 
 
 Will Hurricane Irma hit the US mainland? 
 
 According to the National Hurricane Center, there is an “increased likelihood” that Hurricane Irma will hit the Florida keys and peninsula. Official forecasts can only predict up to five days at a time. If Irma reaches Florida, it wouldn’t be until early Friday morning local time. 
 
 In any case, Florida governor Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency so that “resources are dispersed to local communities as we get prepared for this storm.” He tweeted that he has spoken with Donald Trump, who has offered him “full resources of the federal government as Floridians prepare for Hurricane Irma.” 
 
 Tom Sater, a meteorologist at CNN has said that there is a small chance that the storm’s path will swing eastward into the Atlantic ocean as it travels north, missing the mainland United States. “But that window is shutting quickly,” he said. In all likelihood, Florida will be hit, and meteorologists are concerned that until then, the storm will only continue to gather strength.
– As Texas still deals with the devastation from Harvey, another weather system churning in the Atlantic, and moving west toward the US, has some worried. CNN reports on Irma, currently a Category 3 hurricane that experienced "rapid intensification" from Wednesday into Thursday, meaning its wind speed ramped up at least 35mph in that period—though the National Hurricane Center on Thursday noted the "remarkable" increase measured 58mph. A National Hurricane Center alert issued early Friday pegs maximum sustained winds at 115mph, with higher gusts. The storm is expected to approach the Caribbean by Tuesday or so as a Category 4 storm, then possibly the US—though meteorological models with wildly different scenarios show it's too early to make any definitive predictions on where the storm will land. Irma is what's called a "Cape Verde" hurricane, meaning one that forms off the coast of Africa then shoots across the Atlantic; CNN notes these storm systems can turn into particularly powerful ones (Hurricane Hugo is one example). What's emboldening Irma is a lack of the "hurricane kryptonite" known as wind shear, which often acts to tamp down hurricanes. A powerful high-pressure ridge is pushing Irma westward and keeping wind shear low. What one of the models is showing that has some concerned, per Reuters: Irma could head straight into the Gulf of Mexico, which could be bad news for areas still struggling after Harvey. "All interests in the eastern Caribbean will need to monitor the progress of this evolving and dangerous hurricane," an AccuWeather hurricane expert notes, reiterating he can't say "with certainty" how the US will be affected.