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By Zoe Strozewski
Staff Writer
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As Hurricane Ian continues to approach Florida in what the National Weather Service's director has said will be a "historic" and "devastating" storm, swimmers were seen trying to brave extremely choppy waters on the state's coast in a video shared on social media.
The video was shared on Twitter by meteorologist and hurricane specialist Zach Covey, who said the footage was taken in Fort Myers.
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"This is EXTREMELY dangerous," he wrote. "I can't believe I have to say this.... DO NOT GET INTO THE WATER!"
Hurricane Ian has been gaining momentum and severity ever since it was first categorized as a tropical depression. The storm, which has strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane, is now expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday afternoon. Meanwhile, the state has been rapidly preparing to face Ian's full impact as it already contends with an initial wave of severe weather and related issues.
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According to PowerOutage.us, there were more than 202,000 customers in the state without power as of 12:10 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Flooding has also already been reported in the Florida Keys, while several airports in the state have closed down because of the storm.
The National Hurricane Center said in its 11 a.m. update on the storm on Wednesday that maximum sustained winds were at 155 mph, with higher gusts. It also said that a hurricane warning has been issued from Sebastian Inlet, Florida, northward to the Flagler/Volusia County line in the state.
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The above chart from Statista shows the strength of the hurricanes that have made landfall in the U.S. since 1851.
"On the forecast track, the center of Ian is expected to move onshore within the hurricane warning area in a few hours, move over central Florida tonight and Thursday morning and emerge over the western Atlantic by late Thursday," the update said. "Ian is forecast to turn northward on Friday and approach the northeastern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina coasts late Friday."
It added that Ian was forecasted to make landfall on Florida's western coast as a "catastrophic hurricane." While weakening is expected after landfall, it could still be near hurricane strength when it moves over the state's eastern coast on Thursday.
The projected severity of the storm does not appear to have deterred some from attempting to enter the waters on Florida's coasts. In addition to the video shared by Covey, another video posted by WPEC producer Alexa Roth showed an individual seemingly attempting to get around a barricade on a pier above the churning waters.
Roth said that this occurred at the same place where the video posted by Covey was taken.
Responding to Roth, Covey tweeted that anyone who sees such activity should report it to local emergency officials.
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