Hurricane Ian update: ‘major disaster’ fears as Cuba and Florida prepare for category 4 storm

Hurricane Ian is a historic event for many reasons.

A rapid rise from a tropical storm to a possible Category 4 hurricane within a few days is historic enough as a sign of our times leading to climate change.

The hurricane also marks the first direct hurricane hit in Tampa and St Petersburg Florida since 1921.

“Please take this storm seriously. This is the real deal. This is not a drill,” Timothy Dudley, Hillsborough County Emergency Management Director Told residents of Tampa At a press conference on Monday.

Florida residents faced long queues at gas stations and empty shelves as they prepared for the arrival of Hurricane Ian, a storm expected to reach Category 4 when it landed in the Sunshine State this weekend.

long queues reported over the weekend in places like Pasco Countynorth of Tampa, Tallahassee and Daytona Beach.

Alicia Socker of Lee County told WINK News He encountered multiple “no gas” signs while searching for fuel on Monday.

“Get gas. Next gas station on the left, next station in front of Publix, no gas,” he said, before finally finding a Circle K station with supplies.

“If it was $8 a gallon, I would have earned a few,” he added. “Seriously, when you need it, you need it.”

Forced evacuations were also made for hundreds of thousands of people. hurricane ian with northerly winds making a path towards Florida’s west coast, flash floodstorm surge and possible hurricanes.

Governor Ron DeSantis He warned Florida residents not to panic during the Monday briefing after the storm was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane.

“This is a really big hurricane at this point,” said Governor DeSantis. He added that the hurricane’s path is still unclear, meaning it could “wobble” in or out of the peninsula.

Louise Boyle It has the full report.

hurricane ian A Category 2 storm hit the Cayman Islands and Cuba on Monday as Floridans were warned to “be prepared” for extreme weather conditions in the coming days.

After months of several notable storms, the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season is in full swing. As Florida prepares for the upcoming weather event, Atlantic Canada is recovering from post-tropical cyclone Fiona, which landed in Nova Scotia early Saturday.

As the world’s average temperature increases and sea ​​levels empire, hurricanes It is expected to become stronger and the damage is more catastrophic, scientists say.

As night falls before Hurricane Ian approaches Florida, there are two views of the storm growing here.

One comes from government satellites and the other comes from social media users.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has released his latest update on the strengthening Hurricane Ian.

It includes detailed information about storm surges, school closures, and more.

Get all the information the game.

“There’s an old saying: you hide from the wind, but you avoid the water,” said Richard Olson, director of extreme events research at Florida International University (FIU). Independent earlier this year. “Water kills more people in a hurricane than wind.”

That’s why Floridans are particularly worried about the forecast for Hurricane Ian.

Now when a Category 2 storm hits Florida in the middle of this week, it could bring storm surge floods of up to 10 feet to places like Tampa Bay and cause extreme damage to Florida’s low-lying coastal areas.

Dr. Read more about Olson’s work examining storm behavior in our March article.

Many school districts in Florida are canceling classes as Hurricane Ian moves into the state.

Baker, Columbia and Putnam counties decided to close their schools this weekend, News4 reportsAs in Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas counties.

“Many factors are considered when opening a shelter, so even if our community experiences minimal physical impact from the storm, our area plays an important role,” Putnam Schools said in a statement. “School administrators manage the operation of the shelters, bus drivers support the transportation of some community members, food service teams provide meals to shelter residents, and our surveillance, maintenance and IT teams are working to keep our facilities organized throughout the event.”

Hurricane Ian provides a striking picture of our climate crisis era.

The storm intensifies rapidly as it crosses the Caribbean and is expected to change from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane in an unprecedented 72 hours.

“Rapid condensation, a once rare phenomenon now linked to climate change, could rapidly intensify Ian’s trek over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico,” the director of the Climate Emergency Institute said on Twitter on Monday.

Here’s our latest report on how warming oceans are creating stronger and more deadly storms.