Hurricane Ian strengthens, Florida landfall forecast for Wednesday afternoon

Joe Torres reports from Tampa where the city is already starting to feel the impact of Hurricane Ida as it closes in on Florida.Hurricane Ian strengthened to a Category 3 storm on Tuesday as it made landfall in Cuba. Next, Ian heads to Florida.Hurricane Ian made landfall over western Cuba early on Tuesday and left 1 million people without electricity.

Cuba's Electric Union said in a statement that work is being done to gradually restore service to the country's 11 million people between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Power was initially knocked out in Cuba's western provinces, but subsequently the entire grid collapsed.

It was not yet clear precisely where Ian would crash ashore. Its exact track could determine how severe the storm surge is for Tampa Bay, said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy. Landfall south of the bay could make the impact "much less bad," McNoldy said. He said about 30,000 utility works have already been positioned around the state but it might take days before they can safely reach some of the downed power lines.DeSantis said nearly 100 shelters had been opened by Tuesday afternoon, with more expected. He said most buildings in Florida are strong enough to withstand wind, but the 2.5 million people who have been told to evacuate face the greatest danger from flooding.

Forecasters said the storm surge could reach 12 feet if it peaks at high tide. Rainfall near the area of landfall could top 18 inches . They also said reported a threat of isolated tornados being kicked up by the storm's approach across Florida.

And people wonder why I choose to stay in California…. 🙄

praying florida gets wiped off the face of the earth fr 🙏🙏

Damn

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