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NWS warns against fake hurricane forecast

Posted at 11:26 AM, Sep 02, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-03 10:55:09-04

As Hurricane Irma continues marching through the middle of the Atlantic as a strong hurricane, forecasters are trying to project where the hurricane will end up as it moves to the west. 

Although the hurricane is still at least a week away from threatening the United States, a viral graphic showing Irma's projected path headed toward Texas has been dubbed fake by the National Weather Service. The fake graphic shows Irma continuing moving west, making landfall not far from where Hurricane Harvey struck last week. 

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But official projections by the National Weather Service only extend out five days. At that point, the hurricane would be located near or to the north of Puerto Rico. 

Beyond five days, forecasts are very uncertain. 

Although the storm could continue moving west into the Gulf of Mexico, it could also curve away from the United States coast, without striking land.