MIAMI, United States. — Tropical storm Ian has gained intensity during its advance in the Caribbean Sea and could become a hurricane in the next few hours, according to information released by the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC).
At eight o’clock today, the center of the organism was at 15.0 degrees longitude north and 79.4 degrees longitude west, about 500 kilometers south-southeast of the island of Grand Cayman and about 950 kilometers southeast of the Cape of San Antonio, in Cuba.
The last bulletin The NHC indicates that the cyclone has gained in intensity and now exhibits maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour (km/h), with higher gusts. Its current movement is in a west-northwest direction and its translation speed has slightly decreased, which is now 19 kilometers per hour.
Given the proximity of the meteor to the western Caribbean region, the NHC issued a hurricane alert for Grand Cayman, as well as a hurricane watch for three Cuban territories: the Isla de Juventud Special Municipality and the provinces of Pinar del Río and Artemisa.
That US agency also issued a tropical storm watch for the provinces of Havana, Mayabeque and Matanzas.
The NHC indicated that in the central provinces of Cuba, in the Florida Keys and in the state of Florida itself, they should monitor Ian’s progress.
Ian is expected to become a hurricane this Sunday and increase its category this Monday before reaching Cuba.
The NHC indicated that, at the moment, the agency’s tropical storm-force winds extend from the center outward for a range of 95 kilometers.
The rains associated with the cyclonic system can produce flash floods and landslides in highland areas of Jamaica and Cuba. Similarly, flooding is expected in the Florida Keys and Florida through the middle of next week.
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