The Sarasota County city of Venice is expected to be landfall for Hurricane Ian, coming ashore Wednesday as a powerful Category 3 storm packing winds up to 125 m.p.h., Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said Tuesday.
The hurricane’s steady shift eastward has put Venice in the storm’s crosshairs, according to the National Hurricane Center, Guthrie said, although state officials continued to warn that high winds and storm surge are still expected further north into the Tampa Bay region.
Gov. Ron DeSantis also said flooding from Hurricane Ian was likely across much of west Florida. He also raised the possibility that after landfall, a weakening Ian would continue to march across Central Florida before exiting somewhere along the state’s Atlantic Coast.
“By and large, we’re looking at really, really major storm surge up and down the west coast of Florida,” DeSantis said.
Ian was forecast to become a major hurricane, Category 3 or greater forecasters said. The storm could ultimately reach Category 4 status, which means sustained winds from 130 mph to 156 mph.