Hurricane Ian expected to intensify rapidly and hit Florida as major storm this week

Hurricane Ian moved near the Cayman Islands and closer to western Cuba early Monday on a track to hit Florida as a major hurricane this week. Ian was forecast to intensify rapidly and become a major hurricane as soon as late Monday before becoming an even stronger Category 4 hurricane over warm Gulf of Mexico waters before striking the west central coast of Florida on Wednesday.

At 8 a.m. EDT on Monday, Ian was moving northwest at 14 mph, about 90 miles west-southwest of Grand Cayman, according to the National Hurricane Center. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.

A surge of up to 8 feet of ocean water and 10 inches of rain, with as much as 15 inches in isolated areas, was predicted for the Tampa Bay area. That's enough water to inundate low-lying coastal communities.