By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
ORLANDO, Fl. -- A Hurricane Warning remains in effect for East Central Florida, according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne.
Hurricane Ian is nearing landfall as one of southwest Florida's most intense hurricanes on record, expected to produce catastrophic storm surge, destructive winds, and flooding rainfall.
Ian is a Category 4 hurricane packing maximum sustained winds of 155 mph as of 10 a.m. EDT Wednesday morning.
• Peak Wind Forecast: 50-65 mph with gusts to 85 mph.
The window for tropical storm force winds is early this afternoon until Thursday evening.
Potential for wind 74 to 110 mph - The wind threat has increased from the previous assessment.
• Plan for a life-threatening wind of equivalent CAT 1 or 2 hurricane force.
Be Prepared: Remaining efforts to protect life and property should be urgently completed. Prepare for considerable wind damage.
CITY SKY/WX TMP DP RH WIND PRES REMARKS ORLANDO INTL LGT RAIN 75 73 93 E9 29.82R DAYTONA BEACH LGT RAIN 77 74 90 E12G20 29.84F KSC RAIN 75 68 78 E18G29 29.82R CAPE CANAVERAL RAIN 75 72 88 E16G30 29.81R TITUSVILLE RAIN 79 73 83 E22G29 29.85R FOG SANFORD LGT RAIN 74 73 97 E13 29.83R DELAND LGT RAIN 74 73 96 NE8 29.85S NEW SMYRNA BCH LGT RAIN 77 73 88 E17G30 29.84F ORMOND BEACH LGT RAIN 75 75 100 NE13G21 29.84F
Some coastal gauges are now reporting water rises, the beginning of Ian's storm surge, in Napleds. Meanwhile, winds blowing offshore have produced a blowout tide in Tampa Bay Wednesday morning.
Bands of heavy rain containing strong wind gusts are lashing parts of the Florida Peninsula and the Florida Keys right now.
Winds have recently gusted up to 62 mph in Ft. Myers and Naples. Gusts over 40 mph have been clocked on the Atlantic side in Melbourne. Street flooding was reported in Stuart, about 100 miles north of Miami.
Winds have gusted from 40 to 80 mph in Key West since Tuesday, where Ian also produced the third highest storm surge in over 100 years.
A tornado watch is in effect for central and southern Florida until 5 p.m. EDT.
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008 along the I-4 tourism corridor in greater Daytona Beach to Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed 115 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high-profile cases such as the George Zimmerman murder trial, Frederick has appeared on national crime shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis.