Hurricane Ian, which has had an enormous impact in Florida, remains quite dangerous today. It’s led to extreme river flooding there and the Southeast is now in its crosshairs.
The Category 1 storm was accelerating toward the South Carolina coast, with a “life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds arriving soon,” the National Hurricane Center says.
In the next few days, heavy rain may fall in the mid-Atlantic area and southern New England.
— Up to 20-plus inches of rain fell in Florida. Ian’s winds may have led to underreporting of rainfall in areas with the strongest winds, the Weather Prediction Center says. Rainfall totals include 21.16 inches in Union Park, 19.02 inches in Edgewater, 10.69 inches in Clearwater Beach and 8.19 inches in Key West.
— Winds gusted to 140 mph in Cape Coral, 135 mph in Punta Gorda, 100 mph in Fort Myers and 75 mph in Tampa.
In stark contrast, much of the Northeast had freeze warnings and frost advisories early this morning. And “another round of frost or freeze conditions is possible Sunday night into Monday morning,” a hazardous weather outlook says.
“It is not very often that we see Freeze Warnings and Frost Advisories within only about 450 miles of Tropical Storm and Hurricane Warnings. Of course it was 10 years ago that the remnants of Sandy produced 1–3 feet of snow across the central and southern Appalachians,” the weather service’s Eastern Region Headquarters tweeted yesterday.
Freeze warnings, frost advisories and warnings related to Hurricane Ian in effect yesterday. Source: National Weather Service Eastern Region Headquarters
More images, including some with storm-related safety tips:
Hurricane Ian at 10:31 a.m. (EDT) on Sept. 30, 2022. Source: NESDIS Satellite Services Division (NOAA)
GOES-East satellite image of Hurricane Ian on Sept. 30, 2022. Source: CIRA/NOAA
Source: National Weather Service Eastern Region Headquarters
Map showing all 15 Category 4 or 5 hurricane landfall locations on record in Florida, including Hurricane Ian. Source: Tweet by Philip Klotzbach, a meteorologist at Colorado State University specializing in Atlantic basin seasonal hurricane forecasts
Source: National Hurricane Center
Source: National Hurricane Center
The latest peak storm surge forecast (experimental). This is how high the storm surge could reach above the ground level, including the tide level. Large, destructive waves will likely accompany the elevated water levels. Source: National Hurricane Center
Source: National Weather Service
Source: National Weather Service
Source: National Weather Service
Source: National Weather Service
Potential rainfall through 8 a.m. (EDT) on Sun. Oct. 2, 2022. Local totals may be higher. Source: Weather Prediction Center at the National Weather Service
Source: Weather Prediction Center at the National Weather Service
Source: Southeast River Forecast Center
Major or record river flooding is underway or projected at these nine locations in Florida. Source: Southeast River Forecast Center
Record flooding on the Peace River in Florida now. Source: U.S. Geological Survey via the Southeast River Forecast Center
Precipitation forecast through 8 a.m. (EDT) on Wed. Oct. 5, 2022. Source: Weather Prediction Center at the National Weather Service
Source: NOAA Satellites
Destruction on the Sanibel Causeway to Sanibel Island, Florida, after Hurricane Ian. Source: NOAA Remote Sensing Division via NOAA National Ocean Service
Destruction on Sanibel Island, Florida, after Hurricane Ian. Source: NOAA Remote Sensing Division via NOAA National Ocean Service
More rainfall during the week through 8 a.m. on Sept. 27, 2022, helped boost streamflow, groundwater levels and soil moisture, alleviating drought and dryness in many locations. Extreme drought shrank in eastern Massachusetts, while severe drought eased in northern New England and contracted in southern New England and southeastern New York. Moderate drought and abnormal dryness also shrank in New England and New York. Source: U.S. Drought Monitor and Northeast Drought Early Warning System
The yellow areas 🟨 mean a worsening of drought in areas like the South and High Plains. The green areas 🟩 mean a decrease in drought severity in much of the Northeast, southeast Florida and the Four Corners. Source: National Centers for Environmental Information
Temperatures were near or below freezing some New England areas this morning. Source: National Weather Service Gray/Portland Office
Source: National Weather Service Burlington VT office
“A hard freeze across the north and a frost interior Downeast is expected Sunday night. Lows by Monday morning will range from the 20s north to the mid 30s Downeast. Complete your harvest this weekend or prepare to protect your plants.” Source: Tweet by the National Weather Service Caribou ME office
All continental U.S. landfalling hurricanes with maximum sustained winds of at least 150 mph. Hurricane Ian is tied for 5th place with eight other hurricanes. Source: Tweet by Philip Klotzbach, a meteorologist at Colorado State University specializing in Atlantic basin seasonal hurricane forecasts.
NH EnviroGuy blogger & photography enthusiast living near Newfound Lake in New Hampshire. Finalist, 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service. Snowy ROC NY native.
