Ian became a Category 4 hurricane overnight, and strengthened further Wednesday morning. Sustained winds increased to 155 mph by 7AM Wednesday.
Any higher, and Ian would be a Category 5 storm. Regardless, Ian brings devastating impacts to the southwest Florida coast Wednesday, with landfall likely near Fort Myers/Cape Coral during the afternoon. Storm surge could be up to 18 feet along the coast, with winds well over 100 mph near Ian’s eyewall.
In addition, rain amounts of more than just a few to several inches may fall across much of central Florida. Ian pulls away from Florida Thursday night, moving offshore of the southeast U.S. coast. It move inland again across the Carolinas Friday into Saturday. The core of heavy tropical rain remains well east of Alabama. In fact, our forecast remains mainly sunny, dry, cool, and breezy in central and south Alabama.
Afternoon temperatures peak near 80°, with overnight lows in the 50s for the rest of the week. Clouds may increase some this weekend, but the rain chance now looks very low Saturday and Sunday. Afternoon highs remain near 80°, while overnight lows may trend closer to 60°. Stray showers remain possible early next week, with a partly cloudy sky otherwise. The sky may become mostly sunny again next Wednesday.
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