Ian strengthened to a Category 3 major hurricane as it made landfall in western Cuba. Mandatory evacuation orders are in place in several areas of Florida–where to get info and shelter. See the latest weather alerts and forecasts.
Tuesday’s forecast
Here is the latest forecast from the National Weather Service (NWS).
The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issued a Level 2 severe weather risk for central and southern Florida on Tuesday, with a Level 1 risk for north-central Florida. The NWS warns of heavy rain with potential flash flooding for central and southern Florida.
For the Ohio Valley/mid-Atlantic/Northeast: Scattered thunderstorms with heavy rain bring the potential of flash flooding over northeastern Ohio, northwestern Pennsylvania, and southwestern and northern New York.
Scattered thunderstorms in the West over portions of Arizona, southeastern California, southern Nevada, southern Utah, central and northern New Mexico, southern Texas, Colorado, and southeastern Wyoming.
NWS weather alerts for Tuesday
Here are the latest weather alerts from the National Weather Service (NWS) for Tuesday.
Excessive heat warning: southern California.
Heat advisory: southern California.
Tropical storm warning: Florida, southeastern Georgia.
Storm surge watch: southern Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina.
Tornado watch: southern Florida.
Hurricane warning: Florida.
Red flag warning: south-central Oregon, northeastern California, southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama, and the western Florida Panhandle.
Hurricane Ian strikes Cuba as Category 3, expected to strengthen
Hurricane Ian made landfall in western Cuba on Tuesday as a major Category 3 hurricane. It struck the Pinar del Rio province, where officials evacuated 50,000 people and set up 55 shelters. Sustained winds were 125 mph with as much as 14 feet of storm surge along Cuba’s coast.
Hurricane Ian is expected to strengthen to a Category 4 as it moves beyond Cuba toward Florida.
Hurricane, storm surge warnings for Florida, Georgia and South Carolina
Hurricane Ian is expected to strengthen to a category for reaching top winds of 140 mph before making landfall in Florida, likely the west-central region of the state somewhere between Tampa and Fort Myers, late Wednesday or early Thursday. Storm surge, hurricane, and tropical storm alerts have been issued for Florida, and storm surge and tropical storm alerts extend to Georgia and South Carolina, the Weather Channel reported.
State of emergency, Florida residents urged to complete preparations by dusk Tuesday
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for all 67 Florida counties.
“This is a really really big hurricane,” DeSantis said, warning of damage all across the state.
Experts are warning residents in Florida to rush any preparations being made and to complete them on Tuesday, saying conditions will deteriorate rapidly over the next 12 to 24 hours.
Where to find a shelter
For evacuees who need shelter, Florida has a list of some open shelters here, and the Red Cross has a find-a-shelter tool here. Residents should monitor their local emergency management office via text alerts and social media for the latest updates.
Tampa International Airport shutdown
The Tampa International Airport will suspend all operations at 5 PM on Wednesday.
Buccaneers game may move to Vikings’ stadium
With the Vikings playing in London this weekend, the game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs may be moved to the Vikings stadium in Minneapolis, CBS reported.
