Florida is bracing for major impacts from Hurricane Ian, a Category 4 storm that brought flooding storm surges and winds of up to 155 mph as it made landfall Sept. 28 in the southwest portion of the state. The slow-moving storm—which is expected to reach northern Florida and southern Georgia early on Sept. 30, according to the National Hurricane Center—is bringing threats of flooding across Florida to as far away as North Carolina.
As of 11 a.m. Sept. 28, the National Weather Service forecast a “catastrophic storm surge of 12-18 ft above ground level with destructive waves along the southwest Florida coastline from Englewood to Bonita Beach,” urging anyone in that area to follow evacuation orders.