Hurricane Ian begins lashing Cuba, threatening devastating damage ahead of its arrival in Florida
Rapidly intensifying, Hurricane Ian began lashing western Cuba Monday evening. Conditions are expected to worsen overnight as the storm continues its trek toward Florida, where residents in some coastal areas are already evacuating.
The Category 2 hurricane, packing maximum sustained winds of 110 mph, is moving closer to Cuba’s western tip, where life-threatening storm surges, hurricane-force winds and flash flooding were expected overnight.
Conditions in western Cuba began deteriorating Monday evening, with the centre of the storm about 50 miles south of the city of Pinar del Rio as of 2 a.m., the National Hurricane Center said.
The hurricane is expected to move north-northwest and across the island, leaving devastating wind damage in its path, according to the centre.
Ian quickly strengthened Monday and will likely continue gaining the power to become a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph or more significant when it moves over Cuba Tuesday morning, forecasters say.
It is expected to emerge over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico and continue churning toward Florida, passing west of the Florida Keys late Tuesday, and approaching the west coast of Florida late Wednesday into Thursday.
The hurricane is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge along much of Florida’s west coast by mid-week, as well as hurricane-force winds.
While its exact path remains uncertain, projections show the Tampa area could get its first direct hit from a hurricane since 1921, and impacts on the site could be devastating.
“This is something that we haven’t seen in our lifetime … So we need to take it seriously,” said Meteorologist Rick Davis of the National Weather Service’s Tampa office.
A hurricane warning is in place from Englewood to the Anclote River, including Tampa Bay, according to the latest advisory from the hurricane centre. This means “hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, in this case, within 24 to 36 hours,” the centre said.
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