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Hurricane Ian brings extreme winds, heavy rain to Florida

Ian made landfall in Florida Wednesday afternoon as a major hurricane
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Hurricane Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa, Florida Wednesday afternoon as a Category 4 Major Hurricane.

The storm has already been devastating for west Florida.

Extreme wind gusts as high as 140 miles per hour have been measured on land, with hurricane force winds measured from St Petersburg all the way south to Golden Gate, a distance of over 100 miles.

Those winds are not only destructive, but are driving major storm surge on shore.

Storm surge deep enough to reach the roofs of single level homes has been reported near Fort Myers Beach.

Storm surge alone will be enough for life-threatening flooding, but Ian is also bringing torrential rains.

Radar estimates show as much as 18 inches of rain have fallen just north of where Ian made landfall.

The threat for flooding will continue as Ian makes its way across Florida.

At last update, which was issued a 5 PM PDT, Ian was a category 3 storm, but will weaken as it pushes into the Atlantic.

From there, the storm is expected to turn back to the US, and make landfall again as a Tropical Storm somewhere in Georgia or South Carolina.