Hurricane eyes U.S. coastline Irene became the first hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic season this weekend. The storm, with 80 mph sustained winds, passed over Puerto Rico on Sunday, and is now on a path towards the Bahamas and Florida coastline. A ridge of high pressure to the north of the storm, around Bermuda, should stay in place over the next few days, forcing the storm along a west-northwest path. This image from the GOES-East satellite shows the storm on August 22, 2011 at 1345z.