MIAMI — Hurricane Ian strengthened overnight into a major storm before making landfall over western Cuba, and an eastern tilt is set to take it into Tampa Bay as a powerful Category 3 Thursday morning.
But two days out from landfall, Florida was already feeling Ian’s first gusty, rainy bands. While any future small shifts in the track make a difference for who sees the worst of the winds, the major threat for Ian is water. And the amount could be disastrous in some places.
In its 8 a.m. Tuesday forecast, the National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Ian is expected to bring historic levels of storm surge — potentially up to 10 feet above dry land in Tampa Bay — and up to 24 inches of rain for the west central Florida region. Florida’s entire west coast could see devastating storm surge and intense rain for several days as the storm slows to a crawl along the coast.
