Tropical Storm Ian reached hurricane status early Monday morning, and with the latest update, a Storm Surge Watch and Hurricane Watch was issued for Tampa Bay.
Tropical Storm Ian is forecast to rapidly strengthen on Sunday and become a hurricane later in the day or by Sunday night, according to the National Hurricane Center.
A severe thunderstorm watch is in place for some Tampa Bay area counties until 8 p.m. on Wednesday. A slow-moving storm system will continue to bring showers and possibly strong thunderstorms to much of the Sunshine State throughout the day.