Hurricane

A flooded street is seen in downtown as Hurricane Ian makes landfall in southwestern Florida, in Fort Myers, Florida, U.S. September 28, 2022. Marco Bello | ...

Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais said Wednesday evening the damage is extensive in the county, which includes Cayo Costa, Fort Myers and Cape Coral. Photos and videos on social media showed scenes of devastation: Orlando inundated by floodwater, boats wrecked in Fort Myers, trees snapped like toothpicks in Punta Gorda. [Georgia](https://gov.georgia.gov/press-releases/2022-09-27/gov-kemp-issues-state-emergency-ahead-hurricane-ian), [South Carolina](https://governor.sc.gov/news/2022-09/state-agencies-preparing-potential-impact-hurricane-ian) and [North Carolina](https://governor.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2022/09/28/governor-cooper-issues-state-emergency-advance-severe-weather) have declared states of emergency ahead of the storm's arrival. Florida Gov. [poweroutage.us](https://poweroutage.us/area/state/florida) put the number of Florida customers without electricity at more than 2.5 million early Thursday. The full scope of the impact was not known as the storm and winds still raged. Central and northeast Florida could get 20 inches of rain, and life-threatening storm surge remained a risk for parts of Florida's western and eastern coasts, the hurricane center said. Ron DeSantis said the storm would rank as "one of the top five hurricanes to ever hit the Florida peninsula." Ian had maximum sustained winds of near 65 mph with higher gusts early Thursday as it moved slowly through central Florida on its way to the western Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center. "Watching the water from my condo in the heart of downtown, watching that water rise and just flood out all the stores on the first floor, it was heartbreaking," Anderson said. [told NBC's "TODAY" show](https://www.today.com/news/climate/fort-myers-mayor-hurricane-ian-rcna49942) that Ian was one of the most ferocious storms he had witnessed in decades, gutting him emotionally. Florida woke up Thursday to the catastrophic aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

Hurricane Ian has weakened to a tropical storm and is still expected to produce strong winds, heavy rains and storm surge across portions of Florida, according ...

Hurricane-force winds are expected to continue along the east-central Florida coast through Thursday. It is moving off the east-central coast of Florida and emerging into the western Atlantic later Thursday. We will continue to monitor and update the UF community as Hurricane Ian makes its way over the Florida peninsula. Alachua County is under a tropical storm watch. Hurricane Ian has weakened to a tropical storm and is still expected to produce strong winds, heavy rains and storm surge across portions of Florida, according to the Wednesday, 5 a.m. The weather in Northeast Florida will deteriorate, according to forecasters at the National Weather Service office in Jacksonville.

The spokesperson for Florida's main nursing home organization says initial reports are that facilities have weathered Hurricane Ian “as good as can be.”

In Charlotte County, Emergency Management Director Patrick Fuller expressed cautious optimism that worst-case scenarios might not have been realized. South Carolina Gov. The warm Atlantic waters are expected to help it gather strength as it curves back toward the U.S. Debris from the park collected along U.S. The Coast Guard made dozens of rescues overnight, and there are more than 800 Urban Search and Rescue team members working, the office said. — Police in historic St. We called the non emergency line and were told to wait till someone shows up. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. High tide was at 11:30 a.m., around the height of the storm. ST. ——— “Take this storm seriously,” Tecklenburg said.

Tropical Storm Ian, weakened by its devastating trip across the Florida peninsula, is expected to regain strength over the Atlantic Ocean.

Tropical-storm-force winds will start affecting Georgia and South Carolina Thursday, the NHC said. The storm is very large, putting a wide area at risk. Forecasters are warning of a dangerous storm surge and other impacts, from Florida to North Carolina. ET, Tropical Storm Ian's center was about 25 miles north-northeast of Cape Canaveral, Fla. "While we will not see the full force of Hurricane Ian the way Florida did, we could see high winds, rain, flash flooding and even tornadoes," S.C. The combination of storm surges and torrential rain could bring "considerable urban and flash flooding, especially Friday," according to the A long stretch of the coast is under warning of a life-threatening storm surge, from Palm Coast, Fla., up through the entire shorelines of Georgia and South Carolina. "Ian is expected to become a hurricane again this evening and make landfall as a hurricane on Friday," the National Hurricane Center [forecast track ](https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at4+shtml/093959.shtml?gm_track#contents)sees Ian moving out northeast over the ocean as it passes Jacksonville, before turning more to the northwest and making landfall between Savannah, Ga., and Charleston. [Current forecasts](https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCDAT4+shtml/291500.shtml?) predict it will hit South Carolina as a Category 1 storm. A hurricane warning — meaning hurricane conditions are expected within the area in the near future — is now in effect for the entire coastline of South Carolina. Ian is exiting Florida as a tropical storm — but as it moves back over the water, it will likely regain hurricane status, drawing power from the Atlantic Ocean.

Hillsborough County, Fla. (Sept. 29, 2022) - Hillsborough County emergency officials will host a news conference at 10 a.m. today, Thursday, Sept.

Additionally, you can follow Hillsborough County on social media at Facebook, Twitter, and Nextdoor for updates. There will be a briefing from County Administrator Bonnie Wise, Hillsborough County Office of Emergency Management Director Timothy Dudley, and other officials. 29, at the Hillsborough County Public Safety Operations Complex, 9450 E. 29, 2022) - Hillsborough County emergency officials will host a news conference at 10 a.m. today, Thursday, Sept. (Sept.

Areas from northern Florida all the way up through New York City could see impacts from Ian, which has resumed strengthening.

The Tidewater region of Virginia is expected to see a widespread 4 to 6 inches of rain from Ian and its remnants, with limited coastal flooding possible in spots from Norfolk up through Williamsburg. [Tropical storm warnings](https://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=NCZ196&warncounty=NCC031&firewxzone=NCZ196&local_place1=Harkers%20Island%20NC&product1=Tropical+Storm+Warning&lat=34.695&lon=-76.5587) and storm surge watches are up as far north as Nags Head, which the National Weather Service says could see sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 45. Rainfall should extend further up the East Coast as well, with 2 to 4 inches possible into Salisbury, Md., and coastal parts of New Jersey. [#Ian] [pic.twitter.com/Je1lR5ugsp] [September 29, 2022] [Tropical storm warnings](https://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=NCZ041&warncounty=NCC183&firewxzone=NCZ041&local_place1=Raleigh-Durham%20International%20Airport%20NC&product1=Tropical+Storm+Warning&lat=35.8795&lon=-78.7871) have also been issued for areas far inland, including out to the cities of Charlotte, Hickory, Winston-Salem and Raleigh-Durham. A “life-threatening” storm surge of 4 to 7 feet is possible within surge-prone areas, and a Further south toward the beach town of Southport, sustained winds could climb as high as 35 to 45 mph with hurricane-force gusts. Near hurricane-force winds are expected to begin along the South Carolina coastline on Friday morning, with sustained winds of 55 to 70 mph and gusts up to 90 mph forecast around Charleston. [hurricane watch](https://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=GAZ119&warncounty=GAC051&firewxzone=GAZ119&local_place1=Tybee%20Island%20GA&product1=Hurricane+Watch&lat=32.0088&lon=-80.8426), a peak storm surge of 4 to 6 feet remains possible through Saturday morning. In these spots, 2 to 4 inches of rain is also forecast, with locally higher amounts possible, which is enough to cause significant flooding. Wind gusts of up to 60 mph remain possible, and a “life-threatening” storm surge of 4 to 6 feet may occur in surge-prone areas. All of coastal Georgia remains under storm surge warnings, with impacts from Ian expected to last into Friday night. The worst of Ian’s rainfall is expected to move offshore, but several more inches are possible northeast of Orlando through Thursday afternoon.

Both hurricanes made landfall in southwest Florida, and with similar wind speeds. But Ian, far larger and moving more slowly, will likely cause worse ...

“Ian is very slow-moving, almost a crawl,” Chris Rothwell, lead meteorologist at the Weather Service in Key West, said. Ian was nearly double the size of Charley at landfall, when the eye of the hurricane moves ashore. As Hurricane Ian churned into Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday, it evoked a 2004 hurricane, Charley, that struck the area.

In six years there have been six historic hurricanes in the continental United States, all which intensified quickly before making landfall.

“I would say one of the most worrying things about climate change is a change in extremes,” said Balaguru. “The models are just better.” Vertical wind shear — changing wind speeds and direction at different altitudes in a storm — is also a key influence on the intensity of hurricanes, although researchers are still deciphering any long-term trends. On Friday morning, well before Ian approached the Cayman Islands and Cuba, forecasters warned it would likely feed off warm Gulf of Mexico waters and become a major hurricane approaching Florida within five days. And, Klotzbach added, a period of rapid strengthening is almost a prerequisite for a storm to become among the most powerful hurricanes. Hurricane Harvey showered more than 60 inches of rain in some parts of southeastern Texas because it stalled over the region for nearly two days. [study published earlier this year](https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL095774) found that since 1990, a steadily growing number of global tropical cyclones have undergone what the study called “extreme rapid intensification,” with winds increasing by at least 50 knots, or 57 mph, within a 24-hour period. Those differences drive winds around the globe, pushing around weather systems, including hurricanes, like corks in a stream. “And that is a bit disconcerting.” One comparable period of hurricane activity came from 1945 to 1950, when five Category 4 hurricanes hit Florida in six years, making Klotzbach reluctant to call the series of intense storms since 2017 unprecedented. Ian was only the latest case when its winds nearly doubled within a 24-hour period, going from a low-end hurricane with sustained 75 mph winds Monday to a Category 3 storm with 125 mph winds Tuesday. Sixteen of the last 20 hurricanes in the Atlantic basin have undergone rapid intensification.

Damaged homes and debris are shown in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Fla. on Sept. 29. Photo: AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee.

[Florida begins recovery efforts as Ian moves through state](/2022/09/29/florida-hurricane-ian-recovery) [Hurricane Ian](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/28/hurricane-ian-storm-surge-southwest-florida), which continued to move northeast as a [tropical storm](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/27/live-hurricane-ian-southwest-florida) across the state Thursday on its way to the Carolinas. [2.6 million](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/28/hurricane-ian-florida-power-outage) in the state were without power Thursday after Ian brought strong winds, " [life-threatening](https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT4+shtml/290259.shtml), catastrophic" flooding, and [storm surges](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/28/hurricane-ian-storm-surge-southwest-florida) as high as 12 feet in some areas. [Florida begins recovery efforts as Ian moves through state](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/29/florida-hurricane-ian-recovery) [Biden intends to visit Florida and Puerto Rico after hurricane devastation](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/29/biden-visit-florida-puerto-rico) [Live updates: Hurricane warning issued for South Carolina coast](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/29/live-updates-tropical-storm-ian-georgia-carolinas-thursday) [widespread power outages](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/28/hurricane-ian-florida-power-outage) and [flash flooding](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/29/florida-hurricane-ian-flooding) as Ian crossed through the state Wednesday after making landfall in the Fort Myers area as a Category 4 hurricane. [re-intensifying Tropical Storm Ian](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/27/live-hurricane-ian-southwest-florida) heads [over to the Carolinas](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/29/live-updates-tropical-storm-ian-georgia-carolinas-thursday) on Thursday, Florida is dealing with severe damage in the hurricane's aftermath.

Sea surface temperature data shows how warm ocean water near Florida fueled the storm to become one of the most powerful to strike the United States in the ...

For the most part, the most damage to life and property both during a hurricane and its aftermath comes from the flooding, not the winds, she said. In addition, storm surges are riding on top of elevated sea levels, which can worsen coastal flooding. Hurricane Harvey in 2017 surged from a Category 1 hurricane to a Category 4 overnight. Scientists say that while climate change has not necessarily increased the number of hurricanes, it has made them more powerful, as warmer ocean waters strengthen and sustain those storms. The climate phenomenon The storm brought fierce winds, unrelenting rains and catastrophic flooding to southwest Florida.

Ian roared ashore in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane. EU officials are concerned about explosions at Nord Stream pipelines. Britain's pound weakens to a ...

This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. And then yesterday, there was a very rare intervention by the central bank here, the Bank of England, which stepped in and promised to start buying up U.K. His solution seemed to be to lower taxes slightly for everyone and lower them quite a bit, 5%, for the country's highest earners, as well as end caps on bonuses for the very top earners in the financial sector. And the new British prime minister, Liz Truss, she's been in the job less than a month and is already facing pressure from within her party to fire her finance minister. MARTIN: The country's currency, the pound, weakened to a record low against the U.S. So the British economy is in turmoil. And you are seeing counties in different parts of the state issue evacuation orders. And there will be wind and surge damage up the coast in Sarasota and as far north as St. The company is going to be deploying a large drone today, one that's larger than a private plane, to begin assessing the damage. The 911 call center was down in Lee County, one of the places that was hit hardest in the storm. So as I mentioned earlier, the storm's now downgraded to a tropical storm. But during the storm, we heard reports and saw videos of a massive storm surge in beachfront communities in Naples and Fort Myers.

The extent of the damage was difficult to comprehend, even for residents who had survived and rebuilt after other powerful storms.

Elsewhere in the complex, Sarah Walters, 41, arrived in flip-flops and cutoff shorts to assess the damage to her mother’s house. At the Avante, an assisted-living facility in Orlando, rescuers sloshed through floods to evacuate the facility’s 100 residents, carrying some out on stretchers as rain and wind whirled around them. On both the east and west coasts, beachside bars, boardwalks and piers that had been bustling with tourists a week ago were now a wasteland of muddy debris. In Naples Park, Joe Lema, 76, and his wife, Joyce, 70, spent four hours trapped inside their house by the force and weight of the rising water outside. Aldridge had lost everything in Hurricane Irma in 2017, and was now facing the prospect of starting over, once again. When a flicker of cell service returned on Thursday evening, her brother, Chip Aldridge, 56, recounted how he, his fiancée and dog, Kobi, had walked two miles through the storm and ended up at a La Quinta Inn, where they were now staying because their apartment was a mildewy shambles. [Florida’s southwest coast](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/28/us/hurricane-ian-florida-storm-surge.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-hurricane-ian&variant=show®ion=MAIN_CONTENT_1&block=storyline_top_links_recirc)was a place to escape the chaos. The scale of the wreckage was staggering, even to Florida residents who had survived and rebuilt after other powerful hurricanes. Cell service was spotty or nonexistent up and down the coast, another agonizing impediment to residents’ efforts to seek help or reach missing family members. DeSantis said there had been “biblical” storm surge on Sanibel Island, normally a tourist haven of gleaming beaches and mangroves southwest of Fort Myers. The sheriff in Volusia County, near Orlando on the state’s east coast, said by text message that the coastal county was seeing “unprecedented flooding.” Mr. In North Fort Myers, where Marion Burkholder, 84, survived the storm by clambering into a dinghy inside a neighbor’s screened-in porch and floating up with the rising waters, Thursday brought dreaded news.

Tropical storms are increasingly likely to batter the US as oceans warm—and will continue to wreak havoc so long as climate change remains unaddressed.

This means that hurricane-prone regions in the US could see more storms with winds exceeding 130 mph, powerful enough to rip the roof off a building, uproot trees, and cut off power. Here, thunderstorms are a daily occurrence, and if enough form in a small area, they can begin to fall in toward each other and rotate. He and his colleagues are joining the dots to predict how hurricanes are changing as the world warms.

One of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the United States made landfall Wednesday in Florida. Here are some of the organizations mobilizing on the ...

These fortifications included laying down sandbags to prevent flooding and other precautions taken to preserve the physical integrity of locations that provide irreplaceable services to their communities. “Our health centers by design are located in medically underserved areas, serving vulnerable communities,” Van Winkle said. Earlier this month, more than 100 shipments of medical materials made their way to local health centers. Americares is “We know that it’s going to take weeks, months, if not longer to recover, and the Red Cross is committed to helping people,” Peterson said. [knocked out its power grid](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/cuba-loses-electricity-after-hurricane-ian-knocks-out-power-grid) earlier this week before rapidly picking up strength. Richmond-Shockley said they would determine how far the convoy of mostly volunteer trucks will travel after Ian’s landfall due to hazardous driving conditions. “Some have called in, and those people are being logged and there will be a response,” DeSantis said. [FEMA administrator outlines federal response to Hurricane Ian](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/fema-administrator-outlines-federal-response-to-hurricane-ian) [Photos show destructive wake of Hurricane Ian](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/photos-show-destructive-wake-of-hurricane-ian) [Track the path of Hurricane Ian](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/live-map-track-the-path-of-hurricane-ian) Wednesday, its 150 mph winds fell just short of reaching Category 5 status.

Emergency crews raced on Thursday to reach stranded Florida residents as Hurricane Ian trained its sights on the Carolinas after cutting a coast-to-coast ...

A hurricane warning was in effect for approximately 230 miles (370 km) of coastline from the South Carolina-Georgia border north to Cape Fear, North Carolina. We are trying to get a hold of my daughter," said Terri Byrd, as she tried to get cell service in a Walmart parking lot after spending the night at a Venice elementary school. Biden said that he will travel to the state when conditions allow. "It was insane," local landscaper Jeffrey Chambers, 53, said, describing sideways rain that erased all visibility. More than 2.6 million homes and businesses in Florida remained without power. Authorities in Sarasota County were investigating two possible storm-related deaths, a sheriff's spokesperson said.

Hurricane Ian had weakened to a Category 1 late Wednesday, but the powerful storm that caused life-threatening storm surges, floods that stranded people in.

Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais said Wednesday evening the damage is extensive in the county, which includes Cayo Costa, Fort Myers and Cape Coral. Central and northeast Florida could get 20 inches of rain, and life-threatening storm surge remained a risk for parts of Florida’s western and eastern coasts, the hurricane center said. “At a minimum, it’s going to be a very strong Category 4 that’s going to rank as one of the top five hurricanes to ever hit the Florida peninsula,” he said. Ron DeSantis said the intensity of the storm will be historic. The full scope of the impact was not known as the storm and winds still raged. Though Ian was expected to continue to weaken, the hurricane center cautioned that it could be near hurricane strength when it moved over Florida’s east coast Thursday. Around 2.4 million customers in Florida were without power early Thursday after Ian struck the state’s western coast, causing a path of destruction as it moved toward the Atlantic Ocean. The storm is believed to be one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded making landfall in Florida. Thursday morning, the storm was around 55 miles southwest of Cape Canaveral Ian had maximum sustained winds of near 65 mph with higher gusts early Thursday as it moved slowly through central Florida on its way to the western Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center. - Hurricane Ian had weakened to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of near 65 mph Thursday By 5 a.m., Ian was around 55 miles southwest of Cape Canaveral and moving northeast at 9 mph, the hurricane center said.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned Hurricane Ian will leave historic devastation, as the storm batters the state with catastrophic wind and rain.

But while the Carolinas are expected to be hit, they will likely face a weaker storm than Cuba and Florida have endured. "I spend a lot of time studying hurricane damage, and I'm thinking it will be $100bn (£90bn) in damage and several hundred fatalities," said Hugh Willoughby, a meteorology professor at Florida International University. You can also get in touch in the following ways: Please include your name, age and location with any submission. "This could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida's history," he said on Thursday afternoon. "From what we're seeing now, Fort Myers beach, Bonita Beach, Naples - these places are going to look dramatically different when this is finally done," Mr Salna said. But there is little left to keep her here. If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the "Hurricanes derive their energy from warm ocean water and the Gulf Stream is sort of the warmest ocean water around," he told the BBC. Basic rebuilding and construction efforts will take until the new year, he said, though a full recovery to the area will take "several years". "The amount of water that's been rising, and will likely continue to rise today even as the storm is passing, is basically a 500-year flooding event," he said. "We were in the bathroom and could feel the wall shaking," Tom told the BBC.

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (AP) — Rescue crews piloted boats and waded through flooded streets Thursday to save thousands of Floridians trapped after Hurricane Ian ...

Rainfall of up to 8 inches (20.32 centimeters) threatened flooding in the Carolinas and Virginia. “It doesn’t matter what the intensity of the storm is. It found three survivors, and four others swam to shore, the U.S. The sickest patients — some on ventilators — were crowded into the middle two floors as the staff prepared for storm victims to arrive, said Dr. Relieved that her mother had weathered the storm, Bomlitz was working to arrange a boat rescue. She said her 4-year-old daughter grabbed her hand and said: “I’m scared too, but it’s going to be OK.” The girl was right. Chances are your loved ones do not have ability to contact you,” said the sheriff’s office in Collier County, which includes Naples. The storm flooded homes on both of the state’s coasts, cut off the only bridge to a barrier island, destroyed a historic waterfront pier and knocked out electricity to 2.67 million Florida homes and businesses — nearly a quarter of utility customers. A photo the department posted on Twitter showed one firefighter carrying someone in his arms through knee-deep water. More than 800 members of federal urban search-and-rescue teams were also in the area. In the Orlando area, Orange County firefighters used boats to reach people in a flooded neighborhood. “The amount of water that’s been rising, and will likely continue to rise today even as the storm is passing, is basically a 500-year flooding event.”

Tom Park begins the work of cleaning up after Hurricane Ian moved through the Gulf Coast. Congress is poised to enact a stopgap government funding ...

Port Tampa Bay, the largest on the state’s Gulf Coast, opened for land-side operations on Thursday afternoon, which allows fuel terminal operators and fuel trucks in and out of the port. The other thing that happens is with all that water, all the roads close to the coast, there’s a lot of risk.” “That’s one of the issues you deal with, and especially the bridges — all the bridges have to be checked. Port Everglades is in “good shape from a fuel perspective” according to Florida Ports Council spokesperson Edie Ousley. The LYNX transit system in Orlando and Central Florida is also shut down. But most of it is open and gives us what we need to be able to continue to move supplies into the area.” CSX suspended services ahead of Ian’s landfall across most of the state but had not provided a damage assessment as of Thursday afternoon. Gates will need to be put back in place and power restored so they can operate before trains resume service, Magliari said. But sometimes it takes a while to assess the damages,” he said. It also allows FEMA to spend through the Disaster Relief Fund, which currently has about $15 billion, at a higher rate to respond to the hurricanes that have slammed into Florida and Puerto Rico. The state will need to assess an untold number of other bridges. “The hope is all of [I-75] will be open.

As flooding traps people in their homes, the storm is now taking aim at South Carolina.

You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you do not know how to climb a ladder. "If you do not know how to use a chainsaw. "It was terrifying, because you're helpless", one of the residents, Kim said. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. it was brutal". "I am committed to you and the recovery of the island, we will stand by you no matter how long it takes to get it done." "To the people of Puerto Rico, we have not gone away," President Biden said on Thursday, speaking at the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) in Washington DC. If you do not know the difference between a cable line and a power line, you should not be doing that." Some parts of Naples, a seaside city south of Fort Myers, have been rendered a dark and deserted ghost town, and the city's iconic pier has been smashed in half. "To see a house just sitting in the middle of Estero Bay, literally must have gotten picked up, flown because of the massive wind speed and the storm surge and deposited in a body of water," he said. Joe Biden has warned the category one storm could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida's history, with a "substantial loss of life".

Hurricane Ian is expected to make landfall in South Carolina as a Category 1 storm on Friday.

It made landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 3, weakened to a Category 2 and restrengthened to a Category 3 over the Atlantic. An example of a storm landfalling on Florida’s West Coast and restrengthening over the Atlantic was Hurricane Wilma in 2005. The NWS said they don’t expect water levels from Ian to reach Matthew-like levels, but they could be significant. The NHC expects winds upwards of 80 mph, a storm surge of between 4 – 7 feet and rains that could be between 6 – 12 inches. The National Weather Service says when the gauge reaches 8 feet, widespread flooding occurs in downtown Charleston with numerous roads flooded and impassable. Savannah’s highest crest happened during Hurricane Matthew of 2016. If a storm does not lollygag over land and makes it back over the warm water, the system can restrengthen. Hurricane Ian has South Carolina in its sight and is expected to make landfall as a Category 1 storm on Friday. The Palmetto State sees tropical weather impacts nearly every season but the last hurricane to make a direct landfall was Hurricane Matthew. Damage from the storm was estimated at $10.3 billion. Despite being a weak tropical cyclone, Colin produced more than half a foot of rain that quickly flooded some streets in downtown Charleston. Tropical Storm Colin was about as weak as you will ever see a named storm.

More than 2 million are without power and could be for weeks, and authorities have warned there may be numerous fatalities.

“The ambulances may be coming soon and we don’t know where to put them in the hospital at this point,” she said. “The amount of impact to these communities is going to be significant. “We’re doubled and tripled up.” “There are people I know did not evacuate,” he told CNN. And this is just off initial assessment,” he said. “I don’t think that we can quantify it yet.

Ian is expected to make landfall near Charleston, S.C., as a Category 1 hurricane around midday Friday.

Ron DeSantis (R) said there was no confirmed death toll as of Thursday evening but that authorities “absolutely expect to have mortality from this hurricane.” [Search efforts continue](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/09/29/hurricane-ian-rescues-victims/?itid=hp-top-table-main-t-2&itid=lk_inline_manual_4), with more than 700 confirmed rescues so far. [veered north of Florida](https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/09/24/ian-storm-tracker-map/?itid=lk_inline_manual_4). President Biden declared an emergency in South Carolina hours ahead of Ian’s expected landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Charleston around midday Friday.

Ian is one of the five worst hurricanes in America's recorded history. That's not a fluke – it's a tragic taste of things to come.

Tampa Bay [has dodged](https://www.tampabay.com/news/weather/hurricanes/tampa-bay-dodged-a-bullet-as-isaac-passes-us-by/1248204/) [multiple bullets](https://patch.com/florida/across-fl/hurricane-irma-cleanup-begins-tampa-bay-residents-businesses) in recent years in the form of major hurricanes that ultimately weakened or swerved away from the city. She publishes [Quick Facts](https://www.sciline.org/resource-list/climate-communication/)on the links between climate change and extreme weather events The climate provisions of the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act are [a great start](https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/news-insights/policy-insights-from-the-inflation-reduction-act/), but they’re not adequate on their own for the US to meet its obligations to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030. Stronger storms can [entrain more moisture](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191029182459.htm) into them – a [double whammy](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/09/15/opinion/hurricane-ida-was-shot-across-earths-bow/) that produced the record flooding we saw in Philadelphia a year ago with Hurricane Ida, and the flooding we saw with Harvey in Texas in 2017 and Florence in the Carolinas in 2018, the [two worst flooding events](https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/3-Highest-Volume-US-Rainfall-Events-Record-Have-Happened-Past-3-Years) on record in the US. [make it particularly vulnerable](https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2019/11/12/for-florida-dangerous-climate-change-has-arrived-column/) to a landfalling major hurricane. [from government scientists](https://www.sfgate.com/weather/article/CNN-s-Don-Lemon-has-testy-exchange-with-NOAA-17472764.php), the old saw that we cannot link individual hurricanes to climate change. Since the power of the storm increases roughly the wind speed not only squared but raised to the third power, that amounts to a roughly 44% increase in the destructive potential of these storms. One [study](https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14092018/hurricane-florence-climate-change-rainfall-storm-surge-risk-attribution-forecast/) found, for example, that the devastating flooding from Hurricane Florence as it made landfall in North Carolina four years ago was as much as 50% greater and 80 km (50 miles) larger due to the warmer ocean. But it’s not – it’s part of a larger pattern of stronger hurricanes, typhoons and superstorms that have emerged as the oceans continue to set [record levels of warmth](https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/11/world/oceans-warmest-on-record-2021-climate/index.html). [five most powerful hurricanes](https://www.msnbc.com/hallie-jackson/watch/hurricane-ian-is-fifth-most-powerful-storm-in-terms-of-speed-to-ever-hit-u-s-149459013901) in recorded history to strike the US, and with its 150 mile per hour winds at landfall, [it tied with 2004’s Hurricane Charley](https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/28/weather/hurricane-ian-unprecedented-climate/index.html) as the strongest to ever hit the west coast of Florida. It also leads to the sort of rapid intensification we increasingly see with these storms, where they balloon into major hurricanes in a matter of hours. That means that storms are less likely to churn up colder waters from below, inhibiting one of the natural mechanisms that dampen strengthening.

One of the fiercest storms to hit the US swept ashore, making landfall 125 miles south of Tampa Bay, and hit Fort Myers.

Many were relying on food they had stored in coolers and were trying to conserve drinking and showering water. Back in Fort Myers and nearby Naples on Florida’s south-west coast, facing the Gulf of Mexico, many buildings have been completely flattened. He said the coast there was hit with “a huge, huge wallop” and was wrecked by the ravages of winds up to 125mph and storm surges higher than anyone had seen before. Forecasters expect Ian to strengthen again over Florida’s Atlantic coast and make landfall for a third time in South Carolina on Friday morning. Falling trees, there are a lot of hazards right now,” he said. [fiercest storms ever](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/29/florida-rescue-crews-search-residents-trapped-hurricane-ian-floods) to hit the US swept ashore on Wednesday, after [obliterating electrical power](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/28/cuba-hurricane-ian-blackout-electricity) in Cuba, it made landfall 125 miles south of Tampa and hit Fort Myers.

Hurricane Ian reminds us about disaster prep. Here's how New Englanders can be storm-ready ... While New Englanders aren't pelted with hurricanes like Floridians, ...

[Hurricane Ian crosses through](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/29/hurricane-ian-live-updates-damage-forecast-florida/10457271002/) the state after blasting its southeastern peninsula Wednesday. Damage from flooding is typically not covered under a standard homeowner’s policy, meaning you would have to purchase a separate flood insurance policy. People are urged not to drive during or immediately after the storm. [2.6M without power](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/29/hurricane-ian-live-updates-damage-forecast-florida/10457271002/) Other items such as warm clothing, water and snacks are encouraged. Just nine hurricanes have historically made landfall on the southeastern coast of the region. A major hurricane (Category 3, 4 or 5) can be expected every 58 to 62 years. "This does not necessarily mean evacuees must travel hundreds of miles," it said. So where do you begin with preparations? Based on a century of data analyzed by the [National Hurricane Center](https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/), a hurricane can be expected to reach Cape Cod, for example, every 13-16 years. [WCVB Meteorologist Mike Wankum](https://www.wcvb.com/article/video-how-ian-could-impact-mass-in-days-ahead/41431264) said Ian will reach tropical storm level as it works its way northward, likely bringing rain to southeastern New England on Saturday and possibly into Sunday. [hurricane paths are increasingly headed northward](https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/nation/2021/12/29/climate-change-more-hurricanes-could-hit-new-york-boston-study-says/9045378002/), scientists say, demonstrated last year by Tropical Storm Henri and residual impacts of Hurricane Ida, and more recently by [Hurricane Fiona's impact on eastern Canada](https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2022/09/24/fiona-hammers-canadas-coast-causes-widespread-power-outages/8105256001/).