Tropical Storm Ian bears down on Florida, could become major hurricane by midweek
West-central Florida and the panhandle remain in the line of fire of Ian Sunday as the tropical storm continues strengthening and intensifying.
Ian currently sits about 265 miles south-southeast of Grand Cayman and about 540 miles southeast of the western tip of Cuba with winds swirling up to 50 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 2 p.m. update Sunday.
A hurricane warning is already in place for Grand Cayman and the Cuban provinces of Isla de Juventud, Pinar del Rio and Artemisa, a tropical storm warning for the Cuban provinces of La Habana, Mayabeque, and Matanzas and a tropical storm watch for Little Cayman and Cayman Brac.
Ian is expected to shift toward the northwest Sunday afternoon or evening, passing southwest of Jamaica, then head toward the Cayman Islands early Monday. Monday night into early Tuesday, the storm will close in on western Cuba before emerging over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, according to forecasters.
Jamaica and the Cayman Islands could see 3 to 6 inches of rain, with 4 to 8 inches falling across western Cuba, with hurricane-force winds in Grand Cayman by early Monday.
Swells in the Cayman Islands, the southwestern coast of Cuba and the coasts of Honduras, Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Ian is expected to be a major hurricane in the eastern Gulf of Mexico by the middle of the week, the NHC said Sunday.
Models have Florida in the eye of the storm, but it’s still unclear where exactly Ian will hit: several show the storm making landfall in west-central Florida while others predict the hurricane will shift farther west and hit in the central or western panhandle of the state.
“Regardless of Ian’s exact track and intensity, there is a risk of dangerous storm surge, hurricane-force winds, and heavy rainfall along the west coast of Florida and the Florida Panhandle by the middle of the week, and residents in Florida should ensure they have their hurricane plan in place, follow any advice given by local officials and closely monitor updates to the forecast,” the NHC said Sunday.
Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency across Florida Saturday, activating the National Guard.
“I would also say to other Floridians, even if you’re not necessarily right in the eye of path of the storm, there’s going to be pretty broad impacts throughout the state,” DeSantis said at a press conference Sunday. “You’re going to have wind. You’re going to have water. There could be flooding on the east coast of Florida because of this. It’s a big storm. So just prepare for that.”
President Biden also declared a state of emergency and postponed his own scheduled trip Tuesday to Orlando.
