- Hurricane Ian, the 4th named of the 2022 Hurricane season is bearing down on Florida. (Image from NHC website)
After forecast modellers predicted an above average hurricane season for 2022 in the Atlantic basin, things went a bit quiet. The average date for the season’s first hurricane is August 11th, but this year Tropical Storm Danielle didn’t become the first named hurricane of the Atlantic season until September 1st and was the first named storm in the North Atlantic since July 3rd.
However, things picked up in September and while Danielle churned in the North Atlantic well offshore from any land mass, hurricane Earl was formed east of the Leeward Islands passing less than 100 miles ESE of Bermuda.
Then along came Fiona which strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane on September 22nd, that has had the longest and most destructive journey so far through the Caribbean and even north into Canada hitting Nova Scotia at hurricane strength. Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos and Canada’s eastern seaboard all suffered extensive damage.
And Now It’s Ian’s Turn
Hurricane Ian, the 4th of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, has battered Cuba and is on track to impact Florida as a major hurricane.
- The National Hurricane Center’s forecast cone for Hurricane Ian.
The Hurricane pummelled the western end of Cuba, leaving the island completely without power, according to a government announcement.
The electrical system is experiencing total collapse, officials said, after one of the main power plants could not be brought back online.
The category three hurricane, packing wind speeds of up to 195km/h (120mph), is now bearing down on Florida.
The hurricane has been gathering force in the south-eastern Gulf of Mexico after leaving Cuba, says the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The NHC says that Ian could be a category four hurricane by the time it strikes Florida’s western coast, with wind speeds topping 130mph. Some 2.5 million people in Florida are under evacuation orders.
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Related News:
Millions in Florida Urged to Evacute as Hurricane Ian nears (Reuters)
Hurricane Ian: Cuba suffers complete blackout (BBC)
Hurricane Fiona leaves a trail of devastation (Noonsite)
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Peak storm surge from Hurricane Ian is now forecast to reach a whopping 12-16″ feet from Englewood to Bonita Beach including Charlotte Harbor. Catastrophic is an appropriate word to describe how bad the storm surge inundation is going to be in southwest Florida.