Tropical Storm Watch issued for the Florida Keys
The hurricane tracking team continues to track the movement of Tropical Storm Ian as it crosses the Caribbean Sea. As of 5 p.m. Sunday evening, the National Hurricane Center said the storm is generating maximum sustained winds of 45 mph with gusts at 60 mph. The storm’s movement is being pegged at 12 mph toward the west-northwest, swirling just more than 200 miles east-southeast of Grand Cayman Island.
The 5 p.m. advisory update includes a revised forecast cone. The latest cone shows Ian becoming a hurricane early Monday. It’s expected to strengthen to a Category 2 storm by Tuesday morning, before becoming a Category 3 on Tuesday afternoon when it is near western Cuba.
Peak intensity at Category 4 strength is still anticipated by Wednesday when the storm is west of the Florida Keys in the Gulf of Mexico.
For Southwest Florida, our part of the cone has not changed much in the last 24 hours. Part of our area remains in the cone through the afternoon and evening on Wednesday.
Over the next 24 hours, Ian will be moving toward an environment that will be conducive for strengthening. The water temperatures in the northwest Caribbean are very warm, and the wind shear in the air around the storm will be weak.
Because of the location and movement of the storm, tropical storm watches have been issued for the lower Florida Keys. A tropical storm watch means tropical-storm-force weather conditions are possible in the advised area within the next 48 hours.