“This is going to be a nasty nasty day, two days,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said early Wednesday. “This is going to be a rough stretch.” — The Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., — Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified off Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday morning, gaining top winds of 155 mph , just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status. Damaging winds and rain lashed the state’s heavily populated Gulf Coast, with the Naples to Sarasota region at “highest risk” of a devastating storm surge.
The hurricane center warned of catastrophic storm surges raising the water level as much as 12 feet to 16 feet above ground level for coastal areas straddling Punta Gorda and Fort Myers, which are between Naples and Sarasota. Overnight, Hurricane Ian went through a natural cycle when it lost its old eye and formed a new eye. The timing of this is bad for the Florida coast because it means the storm got stronger and larger hours before it was set to make landfall, making it even more of a menace. Ian went from 120 mph to 155 mph in just three hours, the second round of rapid intensification in the storm’s life cycle.
There were 250,000 people in the Fort Myers/Lee County mandatory evacuation zones, and authorities worried ahead of the storm that only 10% or so would leave. Her husband insisted all would be fine. “You know, you got to go with the flow,” Glyn Williams said. “So we’re quite happy doing what we’re doing.”
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Tracking Hurricane Ian: Major hurricane making its way toward western FloridaHere are the latest model runs of HurricaneIan's track as the powerful storm heads toward Florida.
Read more »
Hurricane Ian powers up to a Category 4 hurricane as it nears FloridaIan is expected to get even stronger over the warm Gulf, reaching top winds of 130 mph as it approaches Florida.
Read more »
Hurricane Ian powers up to a Category 4 hurricane as it nears FloridaIan is expected to get even stronger over the warm Gulf, reaching top winds of 130 mph as it approaches Florida.
Read more »
Hurricane Ian powers up to a Category 4 hurricane as it nears FloridaHurricane Ian made landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 storm, leaving 1 million people without electricity. Next, Ian heads to Florida.
Read more »
Hurricane Ian nears Florida landfall with 155 mph windsHurricane Ian rapidly intensified as it neared landfall along Florida's southwest coast Wednesday morning, gaining top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status. Damaging winds and rain lashed the state, and the heavily populated Naples to Sarasota region was at “highest risk” of a devastating storm surge. U.S. Air Force hurricane hunters confirmed Ian gained strength over warm Gulf of Mexico water after battering Cuba, bringing down the country’s electricity grid and leaving the entire island without power.
Read more »