On Tuesday evening, Hurricane Ian was a Category 3 storm, headed for landfall along Florida’s west coast after making landfall briefly in Cuba.
While Hurricane Ian’s stay in Cuba may have been brief, the category 3 storm brought with it heavy rains and 125 mph winds, knocking out power to the entire island and killing two people, according to the authorities.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy said the power grid had collapsed in the wake of the storm, leaving the country in the dark as it tried to recover from heavy flooding and extensive damage. Before the sun set, residents braved wind and rain to search for food and basic supplies, lining up under overhangs to buy a piece of chicken or a bottle of oil.
At the 8:00 p.m. advisory, the National Hurricane Center said Ian was 180 miles (290 kilometers) south of Punta Gorda, Florida, and 20 miles (35 kilometers) south-southwest of the Dry Tortugas.
The storm was moving through the Gulf of Mexico, traveling to the north-northeast at 10 mph (17 kph). Ian has sustained winds of 120 mph (195 kph) and a minimum central pressure of 947MB…27.96 inches.
The outer bands of Hurricane Ian are already impacting southern Florida. Much of the region has been told to be prepared for possible tornadoes, and the National Hurricane Center says the Key West International Airport is experiencing tropical storm force winds, with a reported gust of 71 m.p.h.
According to WESH2 News, Hurricane Warnings have been issued for: Polk, Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties, while Tropical Storm Warnings have been issued for: Volusia County, Flagler County, Brevard County, and Marion County.
On the forecast track, the center of Ian is expected to move over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico today, pass west of the Florida Keys later tonight, and approach the west coast of Florida within the hurricane warning area on Wednesday and Wednesday night.
Maximum sustained winds remain near 120 mph with higher gusts. Ian is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. There will be some restrengthening Wednesday, and Ian is forecast to approach the west coast of Florida as an extremely dangerous major hurricane,” the National Hurricane Center said.
Ian is expected to produce the following rainfall through Thursday:
- Florida Keys and South Florida: 6 to 8 inches, with isolated totals up to 12 inches.
- Central West Florida: 12 to 16 inches, with isolated totals up to 24 inches.
- Northeast Florida and the remainder of the Central Florida Peninsula: 5 to 10 inches, with isolated totals up to 12 inches.
More than 2.5 million residents are under evacuation orders or advisories in parts of coastal Florida, where dangerous storm surges, flooding, and powerful winds are expected across much of the state through the weekend. Airports in the Tampa area closed on Tuesday afternoon, with others across Florida announcing a large number of flight cancellations.
