“Catastrophic sea floods, winds, and flooding” are expected in the Florida peninsula on Wednesday, September 28, as Category 4 Hurricane Ian approaches, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned in its latest newsletter.

Carrying sustained winds of up to 250 km / h and even "stronger" gusts, Ian is heading for the west coast of the United States where he is expected in the early afternoon local time.

The hurricane should then “move inland” during the day, and “emerge over the western Atlantic by Thursday evening”.

Sandwich satellite image (visible + IR) of Hurricane #Ian a few hours before impact on #Florida.


The system is located near a right jet inlet, which could have favored its intensification.

Upper clouds spread along the east coast.

pic.twitter.com/Xojr6LmD2R

— Keraunos (@KeraunosObs) September 28, 2022

Between 30 and 45 cm of precipitation is expected in central and northeast Florida, and up to 60 cm in some places, according to the NHC.

The phenomena of marine submersion could also reach more than five meters on the coasts.

"This is a storm that will be talked about for many years," said the director of the American weather services (NWS), Ken Graham, during a press conference, referring to a "historic event".

New video just in from Fort Myers, FL shows swimmers getting into the storm surge as Hurricane #Ian approaches.



This is EXTREMELY dangerous.

I can't believe I have to say this….

DO NOT GET INTO THE WATER!

pic.twitter.com/jsoUPvX8uC

— Zach Covey (@ZachCoveyTV) September 28, 2022

Evacuation orders

In the morning, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned that Ian could make landfall as a Category 5 hurricane, the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

"Clearly this is a very powerful hurricane that will have far-reaching consequences," he said.

Evacuation orders were given overnight for a dozen counties on the coast.

The director of Fema (the federal agency in charge of the management of natural disasters) affirmed that Ian would continue to be a "very dangerous" storm for "the days to come".

The authorities are preparing "for the historic and catastrophic effects that we are already beginning to see", even though Ian has not yet made landfall, underlined Deanne Crisswell, during a press conference.

In Port Charlotte, a city of about 64,000 people on the west coast of Florida, dozens of motorists were still driving through the streets on Wednesday morning despite the rain and high winds, an AFP journalist noted. .

As a result of the beginnings of the storm, the sea has retreated into the estuary near Charlotte Harbor and several small boats are resting on dry land.

The National Guard mobilized

On Tuesday, Joe Biden also warned that Ian "could be a very violent hurricane, the impact of which would be devastating and put lives at risk".

"The closer he gets, the higher the anxiety obviously rises with the unknown," observed Chelsea Thompson, 30, who was helping her parents secure their home in an evacuation zone southwest of Tampa.

According to poweroutage.us, more than 270,000 homes were already without power in Florida as of 11:25 a.m. (1525 GMT)

Ahead of Ian's arrival, Tampa airport suspended operations late Tuesday afternoon, while Orlando did the same on Wednesday.

Air traffic over Florida last Wednesday vs today at 15:00 UTC (11:00 am local time).

https://t.co/H0wfmCsCai pic.twitter.com/2uhjfhOyAN

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) September 28, 2022

According to the Pentagon, 3,000 members of the National Guard are mobilized in Florida, with 1,800 more on the way.

NASA had given up on Tuesday's takeoff of its new mega-rocket for the Moon, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"More intense" storms 

Hurricane Ian, then in category 3, had previously hit Cuba, devastating the west of the country for five hours before heading towards the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Cuban meteorological institute Insmet.

Two people were killed in the western province of Pinar del Rio, according to Cuban state media.

The island and its 11.2 million inhabitants have been plunged entirely into darkness.

As the surface of the oceans warms, the frequency of the most intense hurricanes, with stronger winds and greater precipitation, increases, but not the total number of hurricanes.

According to Gary Lackmann, professor of atmospheric sciences at North Carolina State University, in the United States, several studies have demonstrated a "possible link" between climate change, and a phenomenon known as "intensification rapid" - when a relatively weak tropical storm strengthens into a Category 3 or greater hurricane within 24 hours, as was the case with Ian.

"A consensus remains that there will be fewer storms in the future, but that the biggest ones will be more intense," the scientist told AFP.

With AFP

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