Watch: Gov. Ron DeSantis holds news conference as Hurricane Ian approaches Florida | USA TODAY

Hurricane Ian made landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 storm and could hit Florida’s west coast as a Category 4 hurricane as early as Wednesday.

RELATED: Hurricane Ian nears Florida, DeSantis declares state of emergency

Hurricane Ian made landfall in Cuba early Tuesday after it strengthened to a Category 3 storm with 125 mph winds. The storm was forecast to strengthen further over warm Gulf of Mexico waters before reaching Florida as early as Wednesday as a Category 4 storm with top winds of 140 mph (225 km/h).

The storm made landfall in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province, where officials set up 55 shelters, rushed in emergency personnel and took steps to protect crops in Cuba’s main tobacco-growing region. “Cuba is expecting extreme hurricane-force winds, also life-threatening storm surge and heavy rainfall,” hurricane center senior specialist Daniel Brown told The Associated Press.

The strengthening storm prompted a swath of hurricane and storm surge warnings in Florida and the first evacuations along the state's west coast. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Ian was about 500 miles wide and more evacuations are expected as Ian draws closer to his state. Hurricane-force winds extend up to 35 miles from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 115 miles, the hurricane center said Monday.

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31 comments

    1. @HAMED KHAN they seem to have good strategies in place and seem like they are trying to keep people safe. Take politics out of it

  1. Well, we’ve been here before🙄 This is Florida and living ocean front has it’s pleasures, but during hurricane season, it is what it is.🤷🏽‍♀️

    1. @Katty Kat Best solution proposed so far… jonel would make a better President than DeSantis, and you should be their VP.

  2. Cuba as a Category 3 storm and could hit Florida’s west coast as a Category 4 hurricane as early as Wednesday.

  3. I’m not a DeSantis fan, in fact I think he’s said and done some heinous things to people and the state and nation, but I think he’s handling this storm well so far.

    1. He sent illegal folks to other sanctuary cities what’s wrong with that especially if they don’t have any resources to give them ..folks shouldn’t be illegally here but since Biden okayed it now other people can take them in especially these rich and entitled

  4. If you need to get out of the state just tell Ron DeSantis you’re illegal and he’ll put you on the first plane up north

  5. Telling people to come to Broward and Dade. Knowing their his voters. Pleading with them not to leave the state . This man is sick.

  6. What an amazing Governor you have Florida! I’m driving down there early November..Woohoo! Stay safe everyone! Praying for you all x

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