Ian, now a tropical storm, continues to make its way through the Caribbean and toward Florida. As of Sunday night, Tropical Storm Ian was gaining strength as it passed Cuba. The National Hurricane Center expects Ian to become a hurricane on Monday and a major hurricane by Tuesday. Current models haven’t nailed down where exactly a Hurricane Ian will make landfall. However, the current model has it making landfall somewhere North of Tampa. As the storm gets closer to Florida, models will become more accurate.
At this point, Disney has not made any announcements or modified any hours for its parks and resorts at Walt Disney World Resort. This could change as the storm gets closer and stronger and as tropical storm or hurricane warnings are announced. At that point, Disney could begin to change operations in its parks, potentially even closing them. Any travelers visiting Walt Disney World Resort in the coming days should watch Walt Disney World’s website and social media for updates as Disney works to keep both guests and cast members safe during a potential storm impact. Walt Disney World also generally allows for changing or cancellation reservations if a tropical storm or hurricane warning is issued within seven days of travel.
As the strength of Ian continues to grow, so does the potential impact of the storm along its path. The National Hurricane Center is warning citizens to be prepared for the storm. “Regardless of Ian’s exact track and intensity, there is a risk of dangerous storm surge, hurricane-force winds, and heavy rainfall along the west coast of Florida and the Florida Panhandle by the middle of this week, and residents in Florida should ensure they have their hurricane plan in place,” the hurricane center cautioned.
As of Sunday night, Tropical Storm Ian was still 140 miles south of Grand Cayman and 390 miles southeast of the western tip of Cuba. It was moving at 13 mph and Ian’s tropical storm-force winds reached out to 70 miles from its center.
David Sharp, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Melbourne, shared that residents of central Florida should be preparing for Ian now. He also predicted when Ian would be hitting central Florida saying, “The most likely time is Wednesday afternoon, evening about that time, so you definitely want to have things done by Wednesday morning, Wednesday afternoon the latest.” Sharp continued, “Before we see the winds we are going to see rain … so you don’t want to be running around when the roads might be flooded or there’s tornado warnings.”
“The hazards that we’re concerned most about this time is flooding rain … also there’s a concern for tropical storm force winds with hurricane gusts right now,” Sharp said. This could impact more than just central Florida. All who are in Florida should exercise extreme caution in the coming days as Ian makes its way potentially across the state.
Daps Magic will continue to follow the progress of Tropical Storm Ian as it makes its way towards Florida and potentially Walt Disney World Resort. For any questions about an upcoming trip to Walt Disney World during the next week, reach out to Walt Disney World in multiple different ways found here.
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