Hurricane Ian takes aim at Florida: What to know about the major storm

Hurricane Ian is taking aim at Florida on Wednesday. 

The Category 4 storm has strengthened as it nears the state’s western coast.

Some fluctuations in intensity are expected over the coming hours before it makes landfall.

Where is the storm now?

Ian made landfall early Tuesday in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio, where 50,000 people were evacuated. Cuba remained in the dark early Wednesday and authorities were working to restore service to the country’s 11 million residents.

According to the National Hurricane Center, the hurricane was located about 65 miles west-southwest of Naples, Fla.

Maximum sustained winds were 155 miles per hour with higher gusts. 

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 40 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds reach outward up to 175 miles.

Hurricane Ian was moving to the north-northeast near 10 mph.

A reduction in forward speed is forecast on Wednesday, followed by a turn toward the north on Thursday.

When is landfall expected in Florida?

On the forecast track, the center of Hurricane Ian is expected to approach Florida’s west coast within the hurricane warning area on Wednesday morning and move onshore later in the day.

The storm’s center is projected to move over central Florida by Wednesday night and Thursday morning. 

It will emerge over the western Atlantic by late Thursday.

HURRICANE IAN STRENGTHENS TO ‘EXTREMELY DANGEROUS’ CATEGORY 4 STORM, TO MAKE FLORIDA LANDFALL WEDNESDAY 

The storm is bringing the danger of a life-threatening storm surge and tornadoes; warnings have been issued.

Forecasters said the storm surge could reach up to 12 feet if it peaks at high tide, with rainfall near the area of landfall possibly topping 18 inches.

Flash floods were possible across the whole state.

How is Florida responding?

More than 63,900 people in the Sunshine State were without power on Wednesday morning, according to outage tracker PowerOutage.US.

Gov. Ron DeSantis – who declared a statewide emergency – spoke to reporters from the coastal city of Sarasota.

“It is a big storm, it is going to kick up a lot of water as it comes in,” he said in Sarasota.

 He warned at a news conference: “This the kind of storm surge that is life-threatening.”

LIVE UPDATES: HURRICANE IAN ROARS TO CATEGORY 4 STRENGTH, FLORIDA OFFICIALS WARN RESIDENTS TO BE CAUTIOUS

Florida Power and Light warned those in Ian’s path to brace for days without electricity. 

Hundreds of residents were being evacuated from several nursing homes in the Tampa area, where hospitals also were moving some patients.

Tampa and St. Petersburg could get their first direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921.

Parts of Georgia and South Carolina could also see flooding rains and some coastal surge into the weekened.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp preemptively declared an emergency, ordering 500 National Guard troops onto standby.

President Biden also declared an emergency.

Ian became a hurricane early Monday morning.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.