Florida National Guard called into duty
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has issued a statewide state of emergency, said 5,000 Florida National Guard members were being called into duty, and 2,000 more are being sent to Florida from nearby states. The state is working to load 360 trailers with more than 2 million meals and more than 1 million gallons of water to prepare for distribution. Urban Search and Rescue Teams are ready to mobilize where needed, DeSantis said.
“There is going to be an interruption of power, so just plan on that," DeSantis said. “The impacts are going to be far and wide."
"Rapid intensification" is a process in which a storm undergoes accelerated growth: The phenomenon is typically defined to be a tropical cyclone (whether a tropical storm or hurricane) intensifying by at least 35 mph within 24 hours. Ian is predicted to fit this definition. The storm's winds were forecast to approach 140 mph by late Tuesday.
Rapid intensification occurs when a tropical storm or hurricane encounters an "extremely conducive environment," Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach said. That typically includes very warm water, low vertical wind shear and high levels of midlevel moisture. Out of the nine hurricanes with winds of 150 mph or greater that struck the U.S. mainland over 103 years, all but one saw the explosion of force and power known as rapid intensification.
If the storm struck as a Category 4 hurricane, it could cause "catastrophic" damage, and power outages could last weeks or months, according to the National Weather Service's description of storms that strong. Areas can be uninhabitable for weeks or months, the weather service says.
“Even if you’re not necessarily right in the eye of the path of the storm, there’s going to be pretty broad impacts throughout the state," DeSantis warned.
Contributing: Ashley Williams; Celina Tebor, Doyle Rice, and Eve Chen, USA TODAY; Zac Anderson and Steven Walker, Sarasota Herald-Tribune; Samantha Neely of Fort Myers News-Press; John Kennedy, Hannah Morse, and Sergio Bustos, USA TODAY Network; The Associated Press
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