Tropical Storm Ian is "rapidly intensifying," could hit Florida as major hurricane - CBS News

Tropical Storm Ian is expected to "rapidly strengthen" this weekend and could hit Florida early next week as a major hurricane, according to forecasters.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Tropical Storm Ian was moving across the central Caribbean Sea.

It could reach Florida by Tuesday, bringing the possibility of flash flooding to the Florida peninsula and the Florida Keys, the agency added.

"Additional flooding and rises on area streams and rivers across northern Florida and parts of the Southeast cannot be ruled out, especially in central Florida given already saturated antecedent conditions," the NHC wrote in its Saturday night advisory. .

"Too soon to say if it's going to be a southeast Florida problem or a central Florida problem or just the entire state," he said.

On Friday, DeSantis signed an executive order issuing a state of emergency for 24 Florida counties that could be in the storm's path.

On Saturday night, the White House announced that President Biden had approved a federal emergency declaration for the state, which authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate disaster relief efforts and provide assistance to protect lives and property. .

The storm, forecast to make landfall along Florida's West coast, poses risk of "dangerous storm surge, heavy rainfall, flash flooding, strong winds, hazardous seas, and isolated tornadic activity for Florida's Peninsula and portions of the Florida Big Bend, North Florida, and Northeast Florida," DeSantis said in his executive order Saturday.