Hurricane Ian path hits Florida as hurricane strengthens: Live updates
Tropical Storm Ian strengthened into a hurricane Monday as it made landfall in Cuba and Florida, quick boost when hurricane watches were issued along the west coast of Florida.
Several evacuations were ordered Monday in the coastal Hillsborough County, Tampa’s hometown. More expected as Ian got closer. According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm was moving northwest at 13 mph, about 240 miles southeast of Cuba. It has maximum sustained winds of 80 mph.
“A rapid intensification is expected early this week as Ian moves into the western Caribbean, where wind shear is low and the water very warm,” said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Adam Douty. . “This will increase the likelihood of significant impacts in the western Caribbean, and ultimately the United States.”
Ian is forecast to strengthen rapidly into a major hurricane, Category 3 or larger, late Monday at the earliest, AccuWeather said. The storm could eventually reach Category 4 status, which means sustained winds of 130 mph to 156 mph.
Where is Ian going?
Ian is forecast to emerge southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, pass west of the Florida Keys late Tuesday, and approach Florida’s west coast Wednesday through Thursday. The storm is forecast to slow down during this time, the National Hurricane Center warned in a statement.
“This will likely prolong storm surge, wind and rain effects along the affected portions of Florida’s west coast,” the advisor said, adding that “parallel shorelines still cause It is difficult to pinpoint exactly which sites will experience the most severe impacts.”
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Landing in Florida may be midweek
AccuWeather said the possibility of landfall increasing in Florida midweek. Ian is expected to miss most of the mountainous terrain, which frequently disrupts Cuba’s tropical systems, making the storm a powerful Category 4 hurricane. According to AccuWeather, what happens next will largely depend on the exact track Ian takes. A southerly dip in the jet stream across the US will help pull the storm north and into the coast.
“How quickly this interaction happens will determine how strong Ian’s trail is, as well as how strong the system is once it reaches land,” AccuWeather said.
NASA rolls spacecraft back to construction
NASA will return the Artemis I Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to a building on Monday after data collected overnight “did not show expected improved conditions” for the site. area of the Kennedy Space Center, NASA said. This decision allows employees time to address their family’s needs while protecting the integrated rocket and spacecraft system. The launch, scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed because of the storm. Returning the spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building would likely further delay launch.
Artemis is the first step towards establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon in preparation for missions to Mars.
Hurricane Ian . Tracker
Florida braced for Ian .’s rampage
The National Weather Service on Monday issued a storm warning along Florida’s west coast from north of Englewood to the Anclote River, including Tampa Bay. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a statewide state of emergency, urging residents to stock up on food, water, medicine, batteries and fuel. He said it was still too early to determine when or where Ian would make landfall, but that evacuation could be done in the coming days.
“Heavy rains, strong winds, flash floods, high tides and even isolated tornadoes are forecast. Be prepared now,” he said on Sunday. “Anticipate power outages. That’s what’s likely to happen with a hurricane of this magnitude.”
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Category 4 hurricanes could do ‘catastrophic’ damage
If the storm that strikes is a Category 4 hurricane, it could cause “catastrophic” damage and power outages that could last weeks or possibly months, according to the National Weather Service’s description of hurricanes. strong. The weather service said areas could be uninhabitable for weeks or months.
“Even if you don’t necessarily have to be right in front of the hurricane’s path, there will be fairly broad state-wide impacts,” DeSantis warned.
Storm can cause heavy rain all week
Heavy rainfall is expected to affect North Florida, eastern parts of the Florida Panhandle, and parts of the Southeast and mid-Atlantic regions over the weekend. West-central Florida areas will see the most: 8-10 inches over most of the area; Some parts are visible up to 15 inches.
“Significant flooding impacts are possible mid-to-late weekend in central Florida due to saturated preconditions,” the weather agency warned. “Flash floods and urban flooding are possible with rainfall over the Florida Keys and peninsular Florida through midweek.”
Limited-impact flooding and surge in rivers and streams in the area is possible in northern Florida and parts of the Southeast through mid-to-late weekend.
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Bethune-Cookman University orders evacuation
Bethune-Cookman University canceled classes on Monday and said it would reconvene remotely on Tuesday.
“As a precaution and in the interest of the safety of our campus community members, the university has issued a mandatory campus evacuation order,” the school said in a statement on its website. its web. The school, a private, historically black college in Daytona Beach, has approximately 2,750 undergraduate students.
The school tells its students that their smartphones are “computers” and that they should continue to use their mobile phones to keep up with their studies in case they do not have access to a tablet, laptop or desktop technology.
Florida’s west coast could be hit by a rare storm
AccuWeather meteorologists are warning that the storm could hit Florida’s west coast – an often overlooked target. The US database shows that about 160 hurricanes, not including tropical storms, have affected Florida. Only 17 landed on the west coast, north of the Florida Keys.
AccuWeather’s senior weather editor Jesse Ferrell said most storms usually move northeast or northwest, not up the coast. There is no record of a hurricane having fully tracked Florida’s west coast since records began in 1944. But Ian appears to have a “very unusual trail,” he said.
According to Ferrell, Florida has been the target of recent hurricanes but was downgraded to a tropical storm before making landfall. Elsa in 2021 makes landfall west of Tampa, and Eta in 2020 makes landfall north of Tampa in Cedar Key. However, no firepower comes close to a Category 3 hurricane.
Contribution: Associated Press