Hurricane Ian continues intensifying off the coast of Florida as the state's shore communities brace for storm surges and fierce winds as it approaches landfall.
Ian was upgraded to a Category 3 storm Tuesday morning after reaching maximum sustained winds of up to 120 mph the National Hurricane Center stated in an update. The hurricane is expected to continue gaining strength before reaching Florida's west coast by maybe Wednesday night or Thursday morning, closing beaches as residents move to high ground, as Governor Ron DeSantis issued an emergency order for the state.
Rhome said in the update that Ian has continued strengthening as its moved off the west coast of Cuba and heads north toward Florida. Areas from the Anclote River to Englewood, including Tampa, are now under hurricane warnings. Other nearby areas south of the Anclote, such as Tampa and Flamingo, are also under warnings for storm surges, caused when water is forced back inland by the force of the storm. In Tampa, the surges could be as high as 10 feet, he said.
"This warning also triggers your cell phone to go off, so you may have gotten two alerts," Rhome said. "That is to denote the hurricane warning and the storm surge warning. This is the reason why we're trying to have a push in the message with respect to storm surge. A significant storm surge event is quite possible for portions of the west coast of Florida."
The National Hurricane Center on Monday said the center of Ian was about 155 miles southeast of the west coast of Cuba, expected to become a major hurricane late in the night or early Tuesday. Ian is expected to approach the west coast of Florida on Wednesday or Thursday, according to the center.
AccuWeather forecasts that Ian will gain intensity and by midweek rise to a Category 4 hurricane, which can cause catastrophic damage after reaching wind speeds of 156 mph.
Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, has already issued a mandatory evacuation order for portions of the city along the coast line.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told AccuWeather that the evacuation order went out on Monday and residents in other parts of the city could also be ordered to leave. She also said the city is handing out sandbags to residents and draining stormwater ponds, while reaching out to hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities housing vulnerable residents.
Castor added that Mother Nature is always in the "winning column."
"And we don't want to mess with that," she said.
Meanwhile, here are live cameras showing how communities in Florida are responding.
Fort Myers Beach
Key West
Clearwater Beach
Tampa
St. George Island
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Jake Thomas is a Newsweek night reporter based in Portland, Oregon. His focus is U.S. national politics, crime and public ... Read more
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