Hurricane Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa, Florida, on Wednesday as a major Category 4 storm — the second-strongest possible category on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, according to the National Hurricane Center.
 |
| Traffic is slowed as water ponds on the roadway on the west side of the Eau Gallie Causeway in Melbourne, Florida. Photo: Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK |
The storm strengthened Wednesday over the Gulf of Mexico as it moved toward Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph.
The state has prepared for life-threatening and catastrophic impacts.
“This is gonna be a nasty, nasty day – two days,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a press conference Wednesday morning.
“Hurricane Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa” ⬇️
About 2.5 million people were under mandatory evacuation orders as the hurricane started lashing the Florida peninsula with heavy rain and tropical-storm-force winds. Over 600,000 were already without power as the center of the storm approached.
Officials warned of tornadoes, storm-surge and flash flooding from the storm, which isn’t expected to leave the Florida peninsula until Thursday. CBS NEWS
“Hurricane Ian has made landfall…near Cayo Costa” ⬇️
305 PM EDT 28 Sep — Hurricane #Ian has made landfall as an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane near Cayo Costa, Florida with maximum sustained winds at 150 mph. The minimum pressure from Air Force Reconnaissance Hurricane Hunters was 940 mb.
Latest: https://t.co/tnOTyfORCw pic.twitter.com/O3agPDOZHk
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 28, 2022
