Tropical Storm Ian has rapidly intensified into a hurricane as he approaches the U.S, and a Florida forecaster warns that it could be the storm of a “lifetime.”
On Monday (September 26), evacuation orders were issued for some military personnel and residents as Ian whipped 80-mph winds and drew closer to Florida, CNN reports.
Residents of Florida may begin to feel the effects of Ian as early as Tuesday (September 27), according to the outlet. It is predicted that Ian will most likely become a major hurricane, unleashing winds of more than 111 mph by the time the storm makes landfall.
A statement from the National Hurricane Center warns that “Rapid strengthening is expected during the next day or so, and Ian is forecast to become a major hurricane (Monday night) or early Tuesday when it is near western Cuba and remain a major hurricane over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday.”
There are a wide range of paths that Ian could follow, say weather forecasters. If it lands on Tampa, Florida; the occurrence would be the city’s first direct hit from a hurricane since 1921.
“The last major hurricane that actually made a direct hit was 100 years ago,” said meteorologist Rick Davis of the National Weather Service’s Tampa office. “So there’s a lot of people that have been brushed by hurricanes in the last five or 10 years in Florida.”
If the best case scenario occurs and Tampa is spared a direct hit, Tampa Bay is still vulnerable to storm surges which could likely cause catastrophic damage, according to CNN.
“We tell people even if they’re lifelong Floridians like myself, this is something that we haven’t seen in our lifetime,” Davis said. “So we definitely need to take it seriously.”
According to the hurricane center, “heavy rainfall, flash flooding, and possible mudslides” are also expected in parts of Jamaica and Cuba, as Ian makes its way through the eastern Gulf of Mexico and approaches Florida.
“Efforts to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,” CNN forecasters said.
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Two things I want to comment on:
FIRST:
Yesterday I pulled up this site and gasped when the graphic came up. All that registered for me was, “THE SCREAM.” https://www.wikiart.org/en/edvard-munch/the-scream-1893
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at4+shtml/163741.shtml?tswind120#contents
HURRICANE IAN (noaa.gov)
Sooo hoping this hurricane is downsized. We have friends and family living in that part of Florida as many of the readers of this news story have. Sending out light and prayers to ALL of you being impacted by the hurricane.
THEN: When I read, “unleashing winds of more than (((111))) mph by the time the storm makes landfall” it brought back part of this vision/dream I had on September 8th, of this year.
(((I have just come back from the bathroom and into bed. I am wide awake. Looking at the clock it reads 1:11AM. With my eyes closed but still in my line of vision, I see an illuminated/bright pink and orange something in what I think is the sky, perhaps clouds? There is a voice and an image of a man making an announcement, I only see his face which is ordinary. He says,”Yes, according to your clock I am sending a SOUL GROUP. They have come out into the physical world at this time.”)))
As I write Wed. morning, the storm has intensified to just short of a Category 5 hurricane (145 mph winds, vs. 147).
I know people in Cape Coral, parts of which are projected to get 12-16 feet of storm surge, shudder.
I have been praying for them and for all of Florida.
We are lucky it is below Tampa Bay…however a slow moving Hurricane that is dumping excessive rain is bad news. I have lived through many on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.. Camille – Katrina & then some! I now live in the North…
When I see these storms explode into monsters, I just wish to God that the world had taken notice of Superstorm. Instead, Art and I were treated with contempt by Matt Lauer on our one national platform, the Today Show. We were exactly right about what would happen, and it is an awful thing to see it starting to unfold.