Hurricane Ian strengthens as high winds and rain expected for Florida

Hurricane Ian formed early Monday morning as the National Weather Service issued hurricane watches for Florida’s west coast from north of Englewood to the Anclote River including Tampa.

Throughout the day today, Ian is expected to strengthen further and start to head north towards Cuba.

The National Hurricane Center said Ian is forecast to rapidly into a major hurricane by Tuesday, meaning Category 3 or above. 

Related – State of Emergency Declared for the Entire State of Florida by Gov. Ron DeSantis

Here is the 8 am update from the National Hurricane Center:

At 800 AM EDT (1200 UTC), the center of Hurricane Ian was located near latitude 18.7 North, longitude 82.4 West. Ian is moving toward the northwest near 14 mph (22 km/h). A turn toward the north-northwest is expected later today, followed by a northward motion on Tuesday with a slightly slower forward speed.

A turn toward the north-northeast is forecast on Tuesday night or early Wednesday. On the forecast track, the center of Ian is expected to pass near or west of the Cayman Islands today, and near or over western Cuba tonight and early Tuesday. Ian will then emerge over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, pass west of the Florida Keys late Tuesday, and approach the west coast of Florida on Wednesday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 75 mph (120 km/h) with higher gusts. Rapid strengthening is expected during the next day or so, and Ian is forecast to become a major hurricane tonight when it is near western Cuba.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 15 miles (30 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 90 miles (150 km).

Flordia’s Governor Ron DeSantis declared a State of Emergency for the Entire State of Florida this past weekend for Hurricane Ian.

Even though Hurricane Ian is expected to move up the West Coast of Florida heavy wind, rain and even tornados can pop up inland near Disney World & Universal. If you have a trip to Disney World or Universal this week I would keep an eye on this storm and watch for flight cancelations and for park closings.

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