Expect “Rapid Intensification” as Hurricane Ian Aims for Florida

Guests visiting Walt Disney World Resort this week and this weekend must note that Hurricane Ian is expected to rapidly intensify as it shifts further east, targeting Florida.

We previously shared the report that Tropical Storm Ian would likely become a hurricane. As the National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicted, as of Monday morning (September 26, 2022), Ian is now an official hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.

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Hurricane Ian is currently 90 miles west-southwest of Grand Cayman and about 275 miles southeast of the western tip of Cuba. Its path is continuing to shift back east, leaving much of Central Florida within the “cone of uncertainty.”

According to the Orlando Sentinel, “The system is expected to undergo rapid intensification today gaining strength to a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 100 mph by this afternoon and to blow up into a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph off the coast of Southwest Florida by early Wednesday morning.”

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National Hurricane Center forecasters are stressing the storm’s uncertainty, “It should again be stressed that there is still significant uncertainty in the track of Ian, especially in the 3-5 day time frame, and users should not focus on the details of the track forecast at longer time ranges.” Models of landfall along Florida’s coast and the Florida panhandle are all still possibilities.

Regardless of where Hurricane Ian makes landfall, the National Hurricane Center warns the major hurricane will produce intense winds, heavy rain, flooding, and the possibility of tornados.

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Planning to visit Walt Disney World Resort this week or weekend? You’ll want to be paying extra close attention to the National Hurricane Center reports. It’s also important to understand Walt Disney World’s Hurricane policy if making plans to ride out the storm at Disney or cancel the Disney vacation altogether.

We will continue to keep Disney Tips readers updated as we learn more about Hurricane Ian and its path to Florida,as we focus on what impact it may have on the Walt Disney World theme park.