Hurricane Ian will hit Florida as a major storm, forecasters say
NPR
Hurricane Ian is projected to bring a perilous storm surge and winds as strong as 140 mph when it nears Florida's Gulf Coast in the middle of this week, the National Hurricane Center said on Monday.
Ian had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph as of 2 p.m. ET Monday— but it will rapidly intensify into a major storm, developing wind speeds over 110 mph as it moves toward western Cuba, forecasters say.
Ian is currently around 120 miles west-northwest of Grand Cayman, moving northwest at 13 mph, the NHC said in its 2 p.m advisory. Over the next 48 hours, the storm is expected to shift course toward the north and northeast — and the timing of those moves will likely determine where it makes landfall on the U.S. mainland.
As it hits Cuba, Ian's storm surge "could raise water levels by as much as 9 to 14 feet above normal tide levels" in some areas, the hurricane center said. The surge is predicted to be slightly less severe in Florida, but parts of Tampa Bay could still see waters 5 to 10 feet higher than normal.