Tropical Storm Watch issued for the Lower Keys ahead of Ian

A tropical storm watch went into effect for the Lower Keys on Sunday as Floridians continue to prepare for Ian’s uncertain path.

The tri-county region of South Florida still remains outside the current tracks for a direct hit from Tropical Storm Ian, but all Floridians should prepare for a major storm, the governor said. Ron DeSantis said on Sunday.

The tropical storm warning from Seven Mile Bridge to Key West, including the Dry Tortugas, was included in a 5 pm update from the National Hurricane Center. A tropical storm watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within 48 hours.

On the forecast track, the center of Ian is expected to pass near or west of the Cayman Islands on Monday, and near or over western Cuba late Monday and early Tuesday. Ian will then surface over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday.

The models show a possible direct hit in the Tampa area or the Florida Panhandle.

“Don’t get too attached to those cones,” DeSantis said at a news conference Sunday at the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. “Even if you’re not necessarily right in the eye of the storm’s path, there are going to be pretty wide impacts across the state.”

He said there could be heavy flooding on Florida’s east coast. And there’s no guarantee that the storm’s path will continue to move west as it has for the past two days.

“There is uncertainty. The models disagree,” she said. “Just don’t think that if you’re not in that eye, you don’t have to make preparations. The last thing we want is for it to head east quickly and then have people who aren’t ready. It is better to be prepared and not have to use those preparations than the opposite”.

This includes having an adequate supply of food, water, batteries, medicine and fuel, he said.

Projected track of Tropical Storm Ian, from the National Hurricane Center’s 5:00 pm Sunday update. (NOAA)

Most residents will not need to evacuate, emergency officials said. people must first look www.floridadisaster.org/know to see if they are in an evacuation zone. If not, they should assess whether their home can withstand tropical storm or hurricane force winds.

“During Hurricane Irma, we evacuated residents by nearly 2 million people,” said Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

DeSantis said he expected heavy rain, strong winds, flash flooding, storm surge and even isolated tornadoes. He has issued a state of emergency for all 67 counties “given the uncertainty of the storm.” Previously, the state of emergency had been issued for only 24 counties, including Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach.

President Biden also approved a federal emergency declaration for Florida, allowing it to access FEMA resources.

The state has lifted restrictions on commercial trucks and authorized emergency prescription refills or 30 days. DeSantis said he also activated 2,500 members of the Florida National Guard to help with the emergency.

[ MAP: See the latest forecast map for potential Hurricane Ian ]

The center of Ian is expected to pass well southwest of Jamaica on Sunday night, and pass near or west of the Cayman Islands early Monday, based on a forecast track by 5:00 p.m. Ian will then move near or over west of Cuba on Monday night and early Tuesday and will emerge over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday.

If Ian makes landfall in Cuba, it is expected to do so as a major hurricane (sustained winds of at least 111 mph).

It will then emerge over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday.

The 5 pm advisory said a hurricane warning is in effect for Grand Cayman and the Cuban provinces of Isla de Juventud, Pinar del Río and Artemisa. Hurricane warnings, indicating that hurricane conditions are expected, are generally issued 36 hours before the first anticipated occurrence of tropical storm force winds.

South Florida is outside the forecast cone of uncertainty where the center of a hurricane will be two-thirds of the time, said Shawn Bhatti, a meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center. But subtle changes in the route can make a big difference, and the warm waters of the Gulf and possible land interaction with Cuba could create those changes.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference at the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee on Sunday, Florida officials and residents are keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Ian as it moves through the Caribbean. (Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat via AP) (Alice Devine/AP)

“This weekend, have all the preparations in place for a worst case scenario,” Bhatti said.

On Sunday, the forecast track appeared to start shifting back to the east.

The “reasonable” worst-case scenario at this time still includes all the impacts associated with a major hurricane. But if the storm keeps moving west, South Florida might only see high waves and gusty winds.

As the weekend progresses, the hurricane’s path will become increasingly clear. From Sunday night to Monday morning, forecasters say they’ll have a much better idea of what’s to come and whether South Florida could be spared the brunt of the storm.

[ READ IN SPANISH: Se espera que el huracán Ian se forme hoy; la ruta pronosticada parece no llegar al sur de Florida por ahora ]

Wind speed projections for Tropical Storm Ian, from the National Hurricane Center’s 5:00 pm Sunday update.

The storm formerly known as Hermine continued to bring rain to the Canaries on Sunday and then became a remnant low and dissipated.

What was Hurricane Fiona had weakened to a post-tropical cyclone early Sunday and dissipated later that day.

Forecasters are also monitoring a wide area of low pressure in the Atlantic that has a 30% chance of developing in the next five days, although Ian is the biggest concern.

Fiona was the first major hurricane of the 2022 season, that is, Category 3 and above.

[ STAY UPDATED with the latest forecast for tropical weather at SunSentinel.com/hurricane ]