place for 24 counties in the storm s path, and is urging people across the state to start getting ready. we have team coverage tracking tropical storm ian. cnn s carlos suarez is covering storm preparations and meteorologist allison chinchar is in the weather center. you have a new update from the national weather center? we did. a good look now, sunlight for several hours, what this storm looks like on visible satellite. it s starting to come together. you see signs that the storm is beginning to strengthen even though the winds haven t jumped all that much. sustained winds 45 miles per hour, gusting up to 60 miles per hour. we have tropical storm watches in effect for jamaica, but hurricane watches for the cayman islands and the reason for that is we anticipate this storm is expected to strengthen to at least a category 1, possibly even a category 2 hurricane by the time it crosses over the cayman islands. then it will strengthen even more as it is making its way towards
miles per hour, gusting up around 60 miles per hour. with this storm, you have tropical storm watches in effect for jamaica and hurricane watches for cayman islands. that s because looking at the frarsz we anticipate that this storm will become a category 1 storm maybe even as high as a category 2 storm as it s crossing over the cayman islands. it is then expected to intensify further as it makes its way up towards cuba and crosses into the eastern portion of the gulf of mexico. at that point, perhaps, it could get into that major hurricane strength. here s the thing, though. a lot of that has to do with sea surface temperatures that are in the mid and upper 80s for the area in which it s expected to travel through. that sea surface temperature is a big fuel for these storms. it s not just at the surface but going down tens of feet, talking about the ocean heat content, even down there that water is warm, and that s what these storms need to strengthen and intensify as they c
you can see sustained winds are still 45 miles per hour gusting up to 60 miles per hour, still trying to get itself fully organized, but it is going to be heading into a more favorable environment in the next 24 to 48 hours, lower wind shear, lower sea surface temperatures. you have tropical storm watches for jamaica but hurricane watches for areas of the cayman islands. that s because in the short term we anticipate that storm will strength sboon a category 1, maybe a category 2 as it s crossing over the cayman islands. further strengthening is expected as it crosses over cuba and into the eastern portion of the gulf of mexico. then we anticipate it s going to make that right-hand turn back towards florida. at this point, the cone is very large. we are talking anywhere from destin, florida, all the way down just north of key west, still an option at this point. so, basically, if you live anywhere in florida, you need to go ahead and make those preparations just because of th
station because of this storm. there are other ways people are being asked to brace and get ready. carlos? nasa says the decision on whether or not to move the rocket inside a building would be made over the weekend and get under way sunday into monday. that being said, where the storm ultimately ends up going will depend on whether any additional evacuation or emergency orders are done. we know in monroe county, officials won t be making a decision on that just yet. we are also waiting to see if that track will hold if that evacuation order down in monroe county, the keys, that would affect visitors as well as folks that live in a mobile home. heading into the weekend, governor ron desantis did declare a state of emergency in 24 county ace cross the state of florida. he also activated the florida national guard and put them on standby. where all of those resources end up going will depend on ian s track. officials throughout the state of florida have been telling folks to go ahead a
place for 24 counties in the storm s path, and is urging people across the state to start getting ready. we have team coverage tracking tropical storm ian. cnn s carlos suarez is covering storm preparations and meteorologist allison chinchar is in the weather center. you have a new update from the national weather center? we did. a good look now, sunlight for several hours, what this storm looks like on visible satellite. it s starting to come together. you see signs that the storm is beginning to strengthen even though the winds haven t jumped all that much. sustained winds 45 miles per hour, gusting up to 60 miles per hour. we have tropical storm watches in effect for jamaica, but hurricane watches for the cayman islands and the reason for that is we anticipate this storm is expected to strengthen to at least a category 1, possibly even a category 2 hurricane by the time it crosses over the cayman islands. then it will strengthen even more as it is making its way