How long will South Florida feel effects of Hurricane Ian, and when will tornadoes stop?

Howard Cohen
·4 min read

What is Hurricane Ian bringing to South Florida? Tornado watch. Flood watch. Tropical storm warning.

On Wednesday, expect another day like Tuesday as Ian’s rain bands assault South Florida as the Category 4 storm and its winds topping 150 mph approaches landfall somewhere in the Fort Myers and Sarasota area on Florida’s west coast.

As Ian works its way north is the worst of the weather over for South Florida?

“We can’t put that statement out there yet because the center’s right now passing to us on the west, but it will be improved throughout the day,” said meteorologist Barry Baxter of the National Weather Service in Miami on Wednesday morning. “But I can’t say the worst is over yet because we still could get some feeder bands and we are under a tornado watch so I can’t say it’s over yet. But we are going to start to see some slow improvement through the rest of the day into tonight.”

What can South Florida expect?

As Ian continues to move north-northeast up the west coast, more rain bands will reach South Florida with gaps of dry air turning off the tap before storms roll again throughout Wednesday.

“With any of these rain bands that often drop heavy amounts of rainfall this lead to flooding concerns, as well as the tornado threats that will continue throughout the day today,” said Larry Kelly of the National Weather Service in Miami.

“With any of these rain bands we don’t want people to be venturing outside because we’re already seeing wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph along the east coast in any of these rain bands,” he said.

A flood watch is in effect through Wednesday with an additional one to three inches and locally higher amounts of rain expected in South Florida.

A poncho-wearing pedestrian smokes in the rain as he walks along the sidewalk off Brickell Avenue in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday, September 27, 2022. All of South Florida is now in alert for Hurricane Ian’s tropical storm-force winds.
A poncho-wearing pedestrian smokes in the rain as he walks along the sidewalk off Brickell Avenue in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday, September 27, 2022. All of South Florida is now in alert for Hurricane Ian’s tropical storm-force winds.

Tropical storm warning

A tropical storm warning remains in effect in Miami-Dade for Miami, Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, Perrine and Princeton, according to the weather service on Wednesday morning.

In Broward, the warning covers Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach.

In the Keys, the warning remains for Key West, Sugarloaf and Big Pine Key, and includes a storm surge warning.

In Palm Beach County, the warning is for West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Juno Beach and Jupiter.

More tornadoes?

The weather service is still compiling information on Tuesday’s tornadoes in South Florida, with with several happening overnight and people still waking to assess the damage, Kelly said.

Two tornadoes tear through Broward, while Ian hounds Florida as a major hurricane

Broward saw several with damage in Cooper City and single-engine planes at North Perry Airport that flipped in Pembroke Pines. One followed closely through Pembroke Pines, West Hollywood and Davie.

Miami-Dade saw some tornado activity overnight, too, over the Everglades and Miccosukee land, Kelly said as the service continues to gather information on the twisters.

Conditions remain favorable for isolated tornadoes on Wednesday, with the watch ongoing through 5 p.m., Kelly said.

Several airplanes at the North Perry Airport flipped and broke after a tornado swooped nearby ahead of Hurricane Ian’s landfall on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022.
Several airplanes at the North Perry Airport flipped and broke after a tornado swooped nearby ahead of Hurricane Ian’s landfall on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022.

READ MORE: How much storm surge will Ian bring to Florida? See the risk by area

Flood advisory

The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory for parts of Miami-Dade and Broward after radar picked up on a feeder band moving east-northeast through metro areas of the counties, as well as southern Palm Beach County, after 4:15 p.m.

Meteorologists say an additional one to two inches of rain on top of the six to 10 that have already fallen from feeder bands could bring flooding and ponding on neighborhoods already saturated.

Areas that could see flooding include Miami, Hialeah, Miami Beach, Coral Gables and Key Biscayne in Miami-Dade; Fort Lauderdale, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Miramar, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, Davie, Plantation, Sunrise, Tamarac, Deerfield Beach and Margate in Broward; and Boca Raton, Boynton Beach and Delray Beach in Palm Beach County.

The advisory is through 6 p.m.

‘Came through the floor.’ Seawater from Hurricane Ian pours into historic Key West area

When will weather improve?

Thursday still carries a 60% chance of storms with winds around 24 mph in South Florida but the worst weather begins to clear out Thursday, Kelly said.

By Friday, expect a 40% rain and storm chance, dropping to 30% over the weekend in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, and just 20% in the Keys.

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