The National Hurricane Center is warning of life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds, and flooding in southwestern Florida as Hurricane Ian nears landfall tomorrow.
"Life-threatening storm surge is increasingly likely along the Florida west coast where a storm surge warning is in effect, with the highest risk from Naples to the Sarasota region," said Senior Hurricane Specialist Eric Blake. "Hurricane-force winds are expected in the hurricane warning area in southwest and west-central Florida beginning Wednesday morning with tropical storm conditions expected overnight."
Ian is expected to cause devastating wind damage near its center, which could make landfall somewhere between Naples and Tampa.
In addition to storm surge, Ian's torrential rain could cause flooding in most of the Florida peninsula, and in the southeastern U.S. as the storm moves to the north.
"Heavy rainfall will affect most of the Florida Peninsula for the next several days, spreading to the rest of the Southeast U.S. by Thursday and Friday, likely causing flash, urban, and small stream flooding," said Blake.