Tropical Storm Ian, which is expected to strike Florida as a powerful hurricane, is giving some Floridians flashbacks to Hurricane Charley.
The National Hurricane Center said Ian is expected to become a hurricane on Monday and reach major hurricane strength Tuesday.
In 2004, Charley hit the Sunshine State as a major Category 4 storm, making landfall on southwest Florida with winds over 150 mph. As Charley roared through central Florida, winds came down to Category 1 intensity but still carried gusts up to 105 mph in Orlando and 80 mph in Sanford.
What makes them similar?
- Both developed in Eastern Caribbean
2. Both developed rapidly across NW Caribbean and SE Gulf
3. Both are forecast to make a turn NE at landfall but with Ian we aren’t sure just yet how far north it will head before it makes the turn. Charley made the turn at Tampa.
Video below: Gov. DeSantis speaks as Florida prepares for Tropical Storm Ian
Forecasters are still unsure of exactly where Ian could make landfall, with current models plotting it toward Florida’s west coast or panhandle regions, he said.