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 are live in the cnn newsroom. we are monitoring two storms this morning. we begin in florida where in 24 counties there is a state of emergency. tropical storm ian is moving through the caribbean and could grow to a category 3 hurricane before it hits florida next week. residents from the florida panhandle to the florida keys are being told to prepare for storm surges, hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall. meanwhile, hurricane henfiona i moving through eastern canada. you see the driving wind downing trees and breaking power lines. in novema scotia 300,000 customs are without power. residents in four provinces face severe weather as the storm moves north. cnn s allison chinchar and paolo suarez are joining us now. allison, we will get an update on tropical storm ian, which seems to be getting stronger? yes, a first look now that the sun is starting to come up over the visible satellite. we can look at tropical storm ian. it s starting to come together and look a l
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
Hello again, everyone. thanks for joining me this saturday. i m fredricka whitfield. we begin this hour with a state of emergency in parts of florida as officials brace for what s expected to be the first major hurricane to hit the state since 2018. tropical storm ian strengthened overnight and is forecast to intensify into a major hurricane when it moves into the gulf of mexico in the next few days. landfall is possible in western florida as early as wednesday. florida governor ron desantis has declared a state of emergency for 24 counties in the storm s path and is urging people across the state to get ready now. we have team coverage tracking tropical storm ian. cnn s carlos suarez is covering storm preparations, and allison chinchar is in the cnn weather center. allison, you first. let s take a look at what we ve got so far.