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By James Bickerton
News Reporter
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Hurricane Ian is forecast to make landfall on Florida's west coast this afternoon (September 28) as it was approaching Category 5 status.
The hurricane, currently a Category 4 storm, has maximum sustained wind speeds of 155 miles per hour according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
A Category 4 classification means "catastrophic damage will occur," according to the federal agency, with power outages that last "last weeks to possibly months" and "most of the area" directly hit left "uninhabitable for weeks or months" afterwards.
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If Ian increases slightly in wind speed, reaching sustained levels of 157 miles per hour, it will be upgraded to a Category Five hurricane, the highest ranking available.
The NHC reported tropical storm force winds of at least 74 miles per hour, have already begun hitting parts of southwestern Florida with conditions due to "deteriorate rapidly" in the coming hours as the hurricane makes landfall.
By 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, most of Florida will be experiencing tropical storm force winds, with all parts of the Sunshine State other than the far northwest, along with southern Georgia, experiencing storm force winds by 8 p.m. ET.
On Thursday, tropical storm force winds are forecast to extend north further into Georgia along with South Carolina and North Carolina.
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This chart, provided by Statista, shows the number of recorded hurricanes making landfall in the continental United States since 1851, by strength.
According to meteorologist Philip Klotzbach, only four hurricanes in U.S. history have been recorded making landfall at more than Ian's current strength.
"Only 4 hurricanes on record have made continental US landfall w/ max winds of 155+ mph: Labor Day (1935): 185 mph, Camille (1969): 175 mph, Andrew (1992): 165 mph, Michael (2018): 160 mph," he said on Twitter.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday morning Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said it was now too late for people in Collier, Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota counties to evacuate.
"If you are in any of those counties, it's no longer possible to safely evacuate," DeSantis said. "It's time to hunker down and prepare for this storm."
"It is going to have major, major impacts in terms of wind, in terms of rain, in terms of flooding," DeSantis said about the hurricane. "So this is going to be a nasty, nasty day, two days."
The NHC is warning residents of southwestern Florida to expect "catastrophic wind damage" later on Wednesday.
"Catastrophic storm surge inundation of 12 to 16 feet above ground level along with destructive waves are expected somewhere along the southwest Florida coastline from Englewood to Bonita Beach, including Charlotte Harbor," the NHC said in an announcement at 7 a.m. ET. "Catastrophic wind damage is expected along the southwestern coast of Florida beginning in the next few hours where the core of Ian makes landfall. Preparations to protect life and property should be urgently rushed to completion."
Satellite footage from Hurricane Ian showed flashes of lightening around the eye of the storm, on Wednesday morning.
On Tuesday DeSantis spoke to President Joe Biden and later told Fox News he was "very thankful" for the president's support.
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