Tropical Storm Ian was forecast to rapidly gain strength Sunday while racing across the Caribbean toward Cuba and threatening a big hit to Florida’s west coast later in the week.
Ian was 540 miles southeast of Cuba early Sunday, cruising northwest at 12 miles an hour with 50 mph winds. The storm was forecast to reach hurricane status late Sunday, then roll across western Cuba Monday night and early Tuesday.
“In just a few days, Ian is likely to be a dangerous, major hurricane,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said.
“Significant” wind and storm surge damage was expected, and the Cuban government upgraded the hurricane watch to warning. Ian was then forecast to head for the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, the National Weather Service said in its 11 am update.
“Ian is expected to become a hurricane later today or tonight and reach major hurricane strength by late Monday or Monday night before it reaches western Cuba,” warned Brad Reinhart, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center.
Major hurricanes rate Category 3 or higher on a scale of 1-5, with sustained winds of more than 110 mph. Such storms can cause “devastating” damage, many trees can be snapped or uprooted, and electricity and running water can sometimes be unavailable for several days to weeks after the storm passes, the weather service warns.
IAN COULD BE MAJOR HURRICANE SOON:Statewide emergency in Florida declared
In Tampa, stocking up on water and sandbags
John Cangialosi, a senior hurricane specialist at a hurricane center, said Floridians should begin preparations, including gathering supplies for potential power outages, he said.
“For those in Florida, it’s still time to prepare,” he said. “I’m not telling you to put up your shutters yet or do anything like that, but it’s still time to get your supplies.”
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said city sandbag sites were open. She urged residents to shop for several days of necessities now and to check family disaster kits and plans.
“Are you #TampaReady?” she tweeted. “It’s never too early to prepare.”
Residents agreed. Shoppers at a Walmart Supercenter Tampa were stocking up on supplies – and wiped out almost 1,000 cases of bottled water in a few hours Sunday, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
NASA postpones launch, considers stashing rocket
NASA said Sunday that it was monitoring Tropical Storm Ian, but had not determined whether it would roll back the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to the protection of the assembly building. The agency said it would “prioritize the agency’s people and hardware.” NASA managers, who canceled a launch set for Tuesday due to the storm, planned to meet Sunday night to evaluate whether to keep the vehicle at the launch pad to preserve an opportunity for a launch attempt on Oct. 2.
The latest information provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the US Space Force, and the National Hurricane Center indicated a “slower moving and potentially more westerly track of the storm than yesterday’s predictions showed, providing more time for the agency’s decision making process, NASA said in a statement.
Bethune-Cookman University orders evacuation
Bethune-Cookman University canceled classes Monday and said they would reconvene remotely on Tuesday.
“As a precaution, and in the interest of safety for members of our campus community, the university has issued a mandatory campus evacuation,” the school said in a statement on its website. The school, a private, historically black university in Daytona Beach, has about 2,750 undergraduate students.
The school told its students that their smartphones are “computers” and that they should continue to use their cellphones to keep up with their studies in the event they do not have access to a tablet, laptop or desktop technology.
Florida’s west coast could take rare hurricane hit
AccuWeather Meteorologists are warning that the storm could slam the west coast of Florida – an often-missed target. The US database shows that about 160 hurricanes, excluding tropical storms, that have affected Florida. Only 17 have made landfall on the west coast north of the Florida Keys.
Most storms typically travel northeast or northwest, not up the coast, AccuWeather senior weather editor Jesse Ferrell said. There is no record of a hurricane ever having tracked entirely up the west coast of Florida since records began in 1944. But Ian appears likely to take a “very unusual track,” he said.
Florida has had recent storms that were hurricanes, but were downgraded to tropical storms before landfall, Ferrell said. Elsa in 2021 made landfall west of Tampa, and Eta in 2020 made landfall north of Tampa in Cedar Key. Neither had the firepower close to a Category 3 storm, however.
DeSantis declares statewide state of emergency
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a pre-landfall state of emergency for all 67 counties late Saturday. The declaration came after DeSantis’ 24-county declaration late Friday afternoon.
“Floridians should remain vigilant and ensure their households are prepared for a potential impact,” DeSantis said. Florida National Guard members will be activated and on standby.
Ian will then either move inland somewhere over the southeast US, or could track near or along parts of the Eastern Seaboard late this week, El Canal del clima said, adding that it’s too soon to tell where Ian will end up, but there could be wind, flooding rain and other impacts extending into other parts of the East late next week.
Biden authorizes FEMA to help
President Joe Biden also declared an emergency for the state, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to coordinate disaster relief efforts and provide assistance to protect lives and property.
Biden postponed to scheduled Sept. 27 trip to Florida due to the storm.
Caymans, Cuba to see Ian’s fury first
But Ian will do damage even before reaching Cuba. Hurricane conditions are expected to reach Grand Cayman by early Monday, with tropical storm conditions expected by Sunday night, the weather service said.
Hurricane conditions are possible within the hurricane watch area in Cuba by Monday night or early Tuesday, with tropical storm conditions possible by late Monday. Tropical storm conditions are possible within the tropical storm watch area in Cuba Monday night and Tuesday.
Contributing: Christine Fernando and Claire Thornton, USA TODAY; Associated Press
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism