Hurricane Ian strengthens to a major Category 3 storm and targets Florida as a possible Category 4

• Hurricane Ian strengthened to a major Category 3 storm on Tuesday, September 27.
• The NHC defines a major hurricane as a category 3 or higher storm.
• Ian targets Florida as a possible Category 4 hurricane.

Rain and winds from Hurricane Ian strengthened and lashed the western tip of Cuba, where authorities have evacuated 50,000 people, as it strengthened into a major Category 3 storm early Tuesday. It further strengthened on a path that could cause it to hit the west coast of Florida as a Category 4 hurricane as early as Wednesday, September 28.

At 2:30 a.m. EDT (0630 GMT), Ian was about 85 miles (135 kilometers) east of the western tip of Cuba, with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h). The National Hurricane Center (NHC) defines a major hurricane as a Category 3 or higher storm, which means maximum sustained winds of at least 111 mph (178 km/h).

Hurricane Ian becomes a Category 3 storm

Authorities in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province set up 55 shelters, dispatched emergency personnel and took steps to protect crops in Cuba’s main tobacco-producing region ahead of Ian’s landfall Tuesday morning. The NHC said the west coast of the island could see up to 14 feet (4.3 meters) of storm surge.

“Cuba is awaiting extreme hurricanes winds, also life-threatening storm surges and heavy rains,” Hurricane Center Lead Specialist Daniel Brown told The Associated Press.

The worst of the hurricane is expected to reach Florida

After passing over Cuba, Ian is forecast to further strengthen over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico before reaching Florida on Wednesday as a Category 4 storm with top winds of 140 mph (225 km/h). As of Monday, Tampa and St. Petersburg appeared to be among the most likely targets for their first direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921.

“Please treat this storm seriously. It is something real. This is not a drill,” Hillsborough County Emergency Management Director Timothy Dudley said Monday at a news conference on storm preparations in Tampa.

“It would be the end of us”

In Havana on Monday, fishermen were pulling their boats out of the water along the famous Malecón boardwalk and city workers were unclogging storm drains ahead of the expected rain. Havana resident Adyz Ladron said he is concerned about the possibility of rising storm water.

“I am very scared because my house is completely flooded, with water up to here,” she said, pointing to her chest. In Havana’s El Fanguito, a poor neighborhood near the Almendares River, residents packed what they could to leave their homes. “I hope we escape this one because it would be the end of us. We already have very little,” said health worker Abel Rodrigues.

Hundreds of thousands of people may be evacuated

The center said «significant wind and storm surge impacts» were expected Tuesday morning in western Cuba. Ian will not remain over Cuba, but instead move slow over the Gulf of Mexico, getting wider and stronger, «which will have the potential to produce significant wind and storm surge impacts along the west coast of Florida,» said the hurricane center.

An increase of up to 10 feet (3 meters) of ocean water and 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain was forecast in the Tampa Bay area, with up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) in isolated areas. That’s enough water to flood coastal communities. As many as 300,000 people may be evacuated from low-lying areas in Hillsborough County alone, County Manager Bonnie Wise said. Some of those evacuations began Monday afternoon in the most vulnerable areas, with schools and other places open as shelters.