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10 PM UPDATE:

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — Across the Panhandle, the weather will be very manageable with winds expected to be 15 to 25 mph for the inland areas and a bit higher along the coast 20-30 mph will be possible esp. along the Franklin County coastline. Locally gusts could be as high as 35 mph. Rainfall will be from nothing to maybe an inch but at this point in time, a dry forecast is more likely than anything. With that a high fire danger will be present will breezy conditions and dry air in place please avoid burning outdoors over the coming days.

Hurricane Ian will be moving ashore in SWFL tomorrow as far north as Tampa but could be as far south as Naples. This will possibly come ashore as a CAT 4, as the storm slows very heavy rainfall will be possible. We could see someone on the north side of the circulation seeing 30+ inches of rain therefore flooding is a major concern. The wind and storm surge will also be major issues for those areas. For those in those areas look at your local forecast from a local meteorologist or national weather service office. Check-in with your local emergency managers.

Because models are propagating further east, northwest Florida will not see major impacts from Hurricane Ian. Breezy conditions through Friday are expected. Most of our central and western counties will see winds of 15-25 mph with 30-35 mph gusts possible. The Forgotten Coast, coastal Gulf and Bay county along with the Big Bend will likely see some higher wind speeds of 20-30 mph. We’re forecasting 20-30 mph sustained and gusts up to 40 mph.

Mostly dry conditions are expected as the system moves well off to our east. It’s not impossible for some rain to sneak into the easter areas but overall rain chances will be very low.

Winds will be out of the north/northeast, so we shouldn’t see much storm surge along the Forgotten Coast. Friday into the weekend, though, winds from the west and potentially southwest could lead to 1-3 feet of surge at most. Strong winds over the Gulf, however, will create dangerous beach and boating conditions starting late Tuesday. It’s best to stay off of and out of the water from Wednesday until about Saturday.

7 PM Update:

3 PM TROPIC TOPICS UPDATE:

7 AM UPDATE:

HURRICANE IAN MAKES LANDFALL

At 3:30 a.m. CDT, Hurricane Ian made landfall over western Cuba as a Category 3 storm (major hurricane) with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph. It is expected to continue strengthening as it makes its way into the Gulf of Mexico today.

Additional information from the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

This marks major hurricane number two for the 2022 season (Fiona was first). This is also the first time since 1941 that the Atlantic has had 2 major hurricanes form between September 20-27.