User:WeatherWriter/sandbox4

Hurricane Ian is currently a weakening Category 1 hurricane that is impacting the Florida Peninsula having struck the Cayman Islands and western Cuba; it is the ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season. Ian originated from a tropical wave that was located by the National Hurricane Center east of the Windward Islands on September 19, 2022. Two days later, the wave moved into the Caribbean Sea, where it brought winds and heavy rain to the ABC islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and the northern coasts of Venezuela and Colombia on September 21–22. It showed signs of development into a tropical depression later that day, as convection increased and became more focused. After strengthening into Tropical Storm Ian, it became a hurricane as it neared the Cayman Islands, before rapidly intensifying to a high-end Category 3 hurricane as it made landfall in western Cuba. Significant storm surge and heavy rainfall affected Cuba and the entire province of Pinar del Río lost power. It slightly weakened over land but restrengthened once it moved into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, becoming a high-end Category 4 hurricane early on September 28, 2022, as it progressed towards the west coast of Florida. Ian weakened slightly as it approached the coast but remained at Category 4 strength as it made two landfalls in Southwest Florida.

So far, two fatalities have occurred with the hurricane, both in Pinar del Río, Cuba. Additionally, 19 people are missing after a Cuban boat sank because of the hurricane; recovery efforts are ongoing, but they have not been found.

Meteorological history
On September 19, the NHC began tracking a tropical wave (designated as Invest-98L) to the east of the Windward Islands for possible gradual development. Two days later, the disturbance passed over Trinidad and Tobago as it entered the southeast Caribbean, and then near to the ABC Islands and to the northern coast of South America on September 22. During the same day, as the disturbance tracked west-northwestward it showed signs of increasing organization. Strong wind shear of 25–30 kn generated by the upper-level outflow from Hurricane Fiona was, however inhibiting development into a tropical depression. A well-defined circulation was still able to form within the disturbance the same day; its convection then increased and became persistent overnight into the next day. The result was it was designated Tropical Depression Nine early in the morning on September 23. By 03:00 UTC on September 24, the depression's wind speed had increased to 40 mph (65 km/h), and thus was given the name Ian. At approximately 08:30 UTC on September 27, a rapidly intensifying Ian made landfall on western Cuba with sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h), becoming the strongest tropical cyclone to impact Pinar del Río Province since Hurricane Gustav in 2008. Ian weakened some over land, but remained a major hurricane as it emerged off the coast of Cuba and into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico around 14:00 UTC. Ian strengthened slightly upon moving offshore, but then initiated an eyewall replacement cycle, causing its wind speed to remain steady at 120 mph, although its pressure continued to fall as the hurricane grew in size. It moved over the Dry Tortugas at 02:00 UTC with the same wind speed and a pressure of 947 mb as it continued to reorganize. After completing the eyewall cycle a few hours later, Ian quickly strengthened, reaching Category 4 intensity at 09:00 UTC on September 28. By 10:35 UTC on September 28, Ian strengthened further to 155 mph (250 km/h) as it neared Southwest Florida, despite outflow being restricted in its southwestern quadrant by moderate wind shear. At 19:05 UTC, Ian made landfall on Cayo Costa with sustained winds of 150 mph (240 km/h) and an estimated central pressure of 940 mb, becoming the first Category 4 hurricane to impact Southwest Florida since Charley in 2004, which also made landfall at the same location. Ian then made a second landfall just south of Punta Gorda near Pirate Harbor at 20:35 UTC with 145 mph (235 km/h) winds. Ian weakened to Category 3 strength at 23:00 UTC that day.



Jamaica
The Meteorological Service of Jamaica issued tropical storm watches for the island of Jamaica on Friday, September 23, 2022. Flood warnings and marine warnings were issued simultaneously.

Cayman Islands
The government of the Cayman Islands issued hurricane watches for its three islands – Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman – on September 23 at 21:00 UTC as Ian was projected to pass over the British Overseas Territory as a hurricane. The National Emergency Operations Centre had gone into full activation mode. Along with the emergency services, the Cayman Islands Regiment and Cayman Islands Coast Guard saw the full mobilization and deployments of their personnel. In addition, the Governor of the Cayman Islands, Martyn Roper, requested for the United Kingdom to further deploy additional military assets to the islands for the Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) Operations. Subsequently HMS Medway was deployed to the Cayman Islands. Helicopters from Royal Cayman Islands Police Service were also deployed to assist in the operation. At the time one of the helicopters was deployed to the Turks and Caicos Islands prior to the development of Ian to assist recovery efforts there after the passage of Hurricane Fiona. The Royal Navy also deployed its helicopter to assist. Schools, universities, and education centres closed the evening of September 23. On September 24 at 18:00 UTC, the hurricane watch for Grand Cayman was upgraded to a hurricane warning and the hurricane watch for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman was changed to a tropical storm watch. Flood warnings along with marine warnings were also issued for Grand Cayman. The Cayman Islands Airports Authority were to continue to operate the airports until the afternoon of September 25, by which the airports would close down and all the aircraft at the airports were to be evacuated out.

Cuba
Authorities in Cuba issued evacuation orders for around 50,000 people in the Pinar del Rio province and set up around 55 shelters prior to the storm. State media also stated that steps were being taken to protect food and crops in warehouses. Locals removed fishing boats in Havana and city workers inspected and unclogged storm drains.

United States
Amtrak suspended its Auto Train service for September 27–28 and truncated the September 26 southbound Silver Star at Jacksonville, Florida, on September 27. Silver Star service was cancelled for September 27–28 with the northbound Silver Star for September 29 also cancelled. The ninth public hearing of the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, scheduled for September 28 was postponed. The governors of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia all declared a state of emergency in preparation of the incoming storm.

Amazon has cancelled warehouse operations in some facilities, and over 3,200 flights were cancelled as a direct result of Ian.

Florida
On September 24, Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for the entire state of Florida. Tampa Bay area schools also announced closures, and several colleges and universities, including the University of South Florida, the University of Tampa, and Eckerd College announced that they were cancelling classes and closing. By September 27, 55 public school districts across the state announced cancellations, many through the end of the week. The Artemis 1 launch was delayed due to the storm. President Joe Biden approved a state of emergency declaration for Florida on September 24. Additionally, the Biden Administration declared a public health emergency for Florida as well. Numerous airports and ports, including in Tampa, Tampa Bay, Orlando, St. Petersburg, and Key West announced that they would be suspending operations. Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando stated that they would be closing attractions. Numerous stores, including Walmart and Waffle House, were closed because of the impending dangerous weather.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for parts of multiple counties. Around 300,000 people may be evacuated from areas of Hillsborough County with schools and other locations being used as shelters. Governor DeSantis mobilized 5,000 Florida state national guard troops with another 2,000 on standby in neighboring states. Officials in Tallahassee and nearby cities, removed debris and monitored the cities power lines and storm-water systems to make sure the infrastructure systems were prepared and secure.

The college football game between the East Carolina Pirates and the South Florida Bulls was moved from South Florida's stadium in Tampa to Boca Raton. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League moved practices from Tampa south to the Miami Dolphins' training facility in Miami Gardens.

Georgia
Governor Brian Kemp ordered the activation of the State Operations Center on September 26 to begin preparations for the impact of the storm in the later part of the week. Many farmers prepared prior to the storm by turning off irrigation systems to attempt to dry out the ground and harvest what they could, as much of the state's cotton crop has not been harvested yet. Atlanta Motor Speedway opened their campgrounds to hurricane evacuees.

South Carolina
The college football game between the South Carolina State Bulldogs and South Carolina Gamecocks scheduled for October 1 at 12:00 p.m. was moved up to September 29 at 7:00 p.m. on account of the storm.

Elsewhere
Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama and Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina opened their campgrounds to hurricane evacuees.

Bahamas
The eastward shift in Ian's track as well as increasing size of the hurricane prompted the issuance of a tropical storm warning for Bimini and Grand Bahama in The Bahamas late on September 27.

Cayman Islands
Minimal impacts were felt on the Cayman Islands as the storm passed to its west. The all clear for the Islands was called at 3:00 p.m. EDT on September 26 from the National Emergency Operations Center. A couple of inches of rain and wind gusts of up to 50 mph was observed at Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman along with some minor storm surge flooding. Minor damage and scattered power outages were also reported.

Cuba
Striking western Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane, Ian caused extensive damage throughout Pinar del Río and Mayabeque provinces. The storm made landfall at 4:30 ET on September 27, in Pinar del Río province. A peak wind gust of 208 km/h was observed in San Juan y Martínez. A 24-hour rainfall total of 108.3 mm was measured on Isla de la Juventud. Significant storm surge inundation occurred along the coasts of the Gulf of Guanahacabibes and Isla de la Juventud. Ian caused a power outage in the province of Pinar del Río, cutting power to the entire province, which had a population of 850,000. The Cuba Institute of Meteorology located in Havana reported a sustained wind of 56 mph (90 km/h) with a gust to 87 mph (140 km/h) during the afternoon of September 27. Two people were killed in Cuba, a man in San Juan y Martínez who was electrocuted while disconnecting a wind turbine used for irrigating his field, and a 43-year-old woman who died when one of the walls of her house collapsed.

In the early morning of September 28, the storm knocked out power to the entirety of Cuba after a collapse of its power grid, which left 11 million without power. As of September 28, two people have died as a direct result of Hurricane Ian with many missing.

Florida
Several tornado touchdowns were reported in South Florida as the storm approached on September 27, one of which severely damaged over 15 aircraft and several hangars at the North Perry Airport in Broward County. Another tornado on the night of September 27 overturned multiple cars, shattered windows, and toppled a large tree onto an apartment building at Kings Point in Palm Beach County. Tropical-storm-force winds were observed at Key West International Airport before 22:00 UTC (18:00 EDT) the same day; the City of Key West subsequently recorded its third-highest storm surge since 1913.

With the storm making landfall in Southwest Florida on September 27 as a strong Category 4 hurricane, the National Weather Service in Tampa issued multiple, rare extreme wind warnings, indicating the expectancy for sustained winds of 115 mph or greater. Additionally, the National Hurricane Center's advisory at 15:00 UTC warned that the "extremely dangerous eyewall of Ian" is "moving onshore." Ian's offshore flow pulled all the water out of Tampa Bay as well. Sustained hurricane-force winds were confirmed in several places at the landfall point in Southwest Florida, including one report southeast of Cape Coral, where the location recorded a wind gust of 140 mph, around the time of Ian's second landfall. A private weather station near Port Charlotte reported a sustained wind of 115 mph (185 km/h) with a wind gust of 132 mph (212 km/h) around the same time. At 7:47 p.m. EDT, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for rainfall of up to 19 in.

Storm surge also became a serious concern for Southwest Florida, with areas between Longboat Key and Chokoloskee projected to have between 6 - 18 ft of storm surge. In Naples, rising coastal floodwaters trapped people and prompted numerous calls for rescue. Water entered the first floor of several parking garages, impacting many cars. A fire station was completely flooded, substantially damaging nearly all of the equipment in the building. The ambulance bay and helipad were inundated at a hospital in North Naples. Multiple rescues occurred in Goodland after some people unsuccessfully attempted to flee the storm surge. Farther inland, 4 to 6 ft of water covered portions of U.S. Route 41 near Carnestown. The city of Venice turned off water supply to the island of Venice.

Overall, at least two million people in Florida lost electricity during the storm. As Ian approached the state, a boat carrying 23 migrants sank. Three of them were rescued by the Coast Guard while a fourth was able to swim ashore. The remaining occupants are still missing and it is unknown where they are at this time.