Hurricane Ian expected to cause life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds and flooding on the Gulf Coast
Hurricane Ian is gaining strength in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to hit Florida’s west coast late Wednesday as a Category 3 storm, officials said.
BULLETIN Hurricane Ian Intermediate Advisory Number 19A NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL092022 800 PM EDT Tue Sep 27 2022 ...LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGE, CATASTROPHIC WINDS AND FLOODING EXPECTED IN THE FLORIDA PENINSULA...
“The National Hurricane Center is now predicting that landfall will be Venice in 35 hours, at 125 mph … making it a major, Category 3, landfalling hurricane,” Kevin Guthrie, director for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said at a press conference Tuesday morning.
Mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders are in place in eight Florida counties: Charlotte, Hillsborough, Levy, Lee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota.
SUMMARY OF 800 PM EDT...0000 UTC...INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------- LOCATION...24.4N 83.0W ABOUT 180 MI...290 KM SSW OF PUNTA GORDA FLORIDA ABOUT 20 MI...35 KM SSW OF THE DRY TORTUGAS MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...120 MPH...195 KM/H PRESENT MOVEMENT...NNE OR 15 DEGREES AT 10 MPH...17 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...947 MB...27.96 INCHES
“It’s important to say that Tampa Bay region, you are not out of the woods yet. There is still going to be a storm surge event in the Tampa Bay region,” Guthrie said. “You need to continue to heed the warnings that are in place for Pinellas, Tampa, Manatee, Hillsborough. Do not return yet if you have evacuated.”
Forecasters said Ian was expected to move over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico Tuesday before passing west of the Florida Keys Tuesday night. It will then approach Florida’s west coast as an “extremely dangerous” hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm on Tuesday battered Cuba with high winds and life-threatening storm surge, according to forecasters. It made landfall at 4:30 a.m. ET Tuesday in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province, where officials set up 55 shelters and evacuated 50,000 people.
SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT: A Hurricane Warning is in effect for... * Chokoloskee to Anclote River, including Tampa Bay * Dry Tortugas A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for... * Suwannee River southward to Flamingo * Tampa Bay * Dry Tortugas * Flagler/Volusia Line to the mouth of the St. Mary's River * St. Johns River A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for... * Cuban provinces of La Habana, Mayabeque, and Matanzas * Suwannee River to the Anclote River * All of the Florida Keys * Flamingo to Altamaha Sound * Flamingo to Chokoloskee * Lake Okeechobee * Florida Bay * Bimini and Grand Bahama Islands A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for... * Florida Keys from the Card Sound Bridge westward to Key West * Florida Bay * Mouth of St. Mary's River to South Santee River A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for... * North of Altamaha Sound to South Santee River
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