Hurricane Ian continues to move across the Florida peninsula and is now a category 2 storm. According to the National Hurricane Center St. Petersburg, Florida recently had sustained winds of 46 mph (74 km/h) with a gust to 51 mph (82 km/h). Melbourne Beach Barrier Island Sanctuary recently observed sustained winds of 42 mph (68 km/h) with a gust to 58 mph (93 km/h).
Hurricane Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa, Florida as a Category 4 at 3:05 PM ET/2:05 CT. Preliminary maximum sustained winds at landfall were 150 mph with minimum pressure of 940 mb based on available data from Air Force Reconnaissance Hurricane Hunters. This storm will continue to track across the peninsula of Florida and weaken as it does so.
Locally we are seeing winds gusting into the 20s this evening keeping that high fire danger in place. It is certainly a good idea to not do any outdoor burning over the next few days.
Expect a lot of sun over the next few days. Daytime highs will reach the low 80s. Overnight lows will range from the low to mid 50s north to low to mid 60s south.
Look for another breezy day on Thursday. That coupled with low humidity and dry vegetation will create dangerous outdoor burning conditions. A wind advisory is in effect through Wednesday evening. Expect speeds in the teens and 20s with gusts into the 30s at times.
Temperatures begin to warm a little through the weekend. It will still be very pleasant though into early next week.