As Hurricane Ian continues to get closer to Florida, the models that track and predict where the hurricane will go become more accurate. Currently, Hurricane Ian is a category 3 storm and it has seen its track shift south of Tampa Bay. It is now targeting somewhere between Port Charlotte and Fort Meyers for landfall before heading across the state of Florida. When it reaches land, it could potentially be a category 4 storm. Recent reports suggest this could be sometime Wednesday.
This new path across Florida has Orlando and Walt Disney World right in the target of where Hurricane Ian is headed. Weather forecasters are predicting 15 to 20 inches of rainfall for central Florida. Some localized rainfall could come down with as much as 24 inches of rain. In comparison, the most rain that Orlando has ever had in a three-day period is 13.75 inches. As the storm makes it way through central Florida sustained winds are predicted to be 55 to 65 mph with hurricane gusts reaching up to 80 miles per hour.
“I want citizens to take this storm seriously and prepare,” Mayor Buddy Dyer said Tuesday, at a news conference on Tuesday. “The track of the storm has changed fairly significantly to the east, so it looks like the path is directly over the city of Orlando in a few days.”
One forecast for the path has the storm passing directly through Walt Disney World Resort, specifically through EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. While this may not be where the exact center of the storm, the storm will be passing through the general area. Disney is preparing for this with efforts to make sure that both cast members and guests stay safe during the storm.
On Tuesday, Walt Disney World Resort announced that all of its parks will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday and Disney Springs will be closed for sure on Wednesday as well. It is very likely that Disney Springs could be closed on Thursday as well. This will all be determined by the path the storm does take and the impact it has on the region and Walt Disney World Resort.
Walt Disney World will continue to share updates on DisneyWorld.com/Weather and Daps Magic will also continue to post updates at DapsMagic.com/Hurricane-Ian.
Once the path
