Update on Hurricane Ian as of 5 p.m. on Wednesday, September 28. The eye of Hurricane Ian was located near latitude 26.9 North, longitude 82.0 West. Ian is moving toward the north-northeast near 8 mph (13 km/h). On the forecast track, the center of Ian is expected to move across central Florida tonight and Thursday morning and emerge over the western Atlantic by late Thursday. Ian is forecast to turn northward on Friday and approach the northeastern Florida coast, Georgia and South Carolina coasts late Friday.
Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 140 mph (220 km/h) with higher gusts. Ian is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Further weakening is expected for the next day or so, but Ian could be near hurricane strength when it moves over the Florida East coast tomorrow, and when it approaches the northeastern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina coasts late Friday. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 50 miles (85 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 km). A Weather Flow station in Grove City recently reported sustained winds of 95 mph (153 km/h) and a wind gust of 128 mph (208 km/h). A University of Florida Coastal Monitoring Program wind tower recently reported sustained winds of 89 mph (143 km/h) with a gust to 114 mph (183 km/h). The estimated minimum central pressure is 945 mb.