Hurricane Ian Updates from Monroe County Joint Information Center

MONROE COUNTY, FL – Monroe County Emergency Management is coordinating preparedness efforts with local, state, and federal partners due to the potential threat of Hurricane Ian.

From the National Weather Service – Key West: Sustained Tropical Storm Force Winds are imminent in the Lower Florida Keys. Gusts to tropical storm force are occurring in the Middle Florida Keys, with sustained tropical storm force winds expected to begin the Middle Florida Keys this evening. Wind gusts up to 45 mph and sustained of 25 in Key West have been recorded by National Weather Service – Key West. Waves at a buoy at a reef on the southwest side of Key West were recorded at 11.2 feet.

Severe rain squalls with damaging wind are expected. The squalls will cause dangerous driving conditions through tonight and into early Wednesday.

There are reports of trees down in Key West blocking some roads and minor street flooding in normal flooding areas throughout the Florida Keys due to heavy rain. Treat residential areas with water on the road as “No Wake Zones” to prevent property damage to neighbors’ yards and homes. Water on the streets can be a mixture of rain and saltwater.

A Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect for the Lower and Middle Keys. A Tropical Storm Watch remains in effect for the Upper Keys. A Hurricane Warning remains in effect for the Dry Tortugas only.

A Storm Surge Watch remains in effect for all of the Florida Keys from Ocean Reef through Key West. Storm surge flooding 1 to 3 feet above normal high tides is possible.

• While higher than normal tides and heavy oceanside wave overwash is expected through tonight along the Lower and Middle Keys, the highest storm surge is likely to occur well AFTER the center of Hurricane Ian passes west of the Florida Keys, and will mostly impact the Gulf and Bayside of the Florida Keys.
• The storm surge for the Gulfside/Bayside of the Lower and Middle Keys is expected Wednesday, with the storm surge in the Bayside of the Upper Keys Thursday through Friday.

A Flood Watch is in effect for all of the Florida Keys through Wednesday morning.

• Heavy rainfall has already produced areas of street, parking lot and yard flooding in poor drainage areas in the Florida Keys.
• An additional 4 to 6 inches of rain is expected throughout the Florida Keys.

A Tornado Watch is in effect for the Florida Keys of Monroe County through 5:00 pm this afternoon.  Tornadoes are possible through Wednesday in association with the rain bands from Hurricane Ian.

JOINT INFORMATION CENTER

Residents and visitors should be in their safe structure by now and stay off the roads. A general population shelter is open at Key West High School for anyone who needs a safe place to weather the storm.

– Monroe County government offices and schools will be closed on Wednesday. Municipal offices are also closed Wednesday.

– Trauma Star helicopters are not in flight today.

– Emergency operations (police and fire) will cease when winds reach 35 mph and will resume as soon as safe to do so.

– The Snake Creek Bridge drawbridge is locked down to boat traffic and will not open once winds reach 39 mph until safe to do so.

– No garbage collection in Monroe County on Wednesday. Updates will be posted at www.monroecountyem.com/Ian. Please secure all trash and recyclables overnight.

All commercial flights at Key West International Airport for Tuesday have been canceled. Please contact your airline for any changes regarding flights. The airport will be open on Wednesday with flights scheduled.

The port of Key West is closed to maritime traffic. Stay off the water throughout the Florida Keys.

Hurricane preparation information can be found at www.monroecountyem.com. For tourism, visit www.fla-keys.com. To get emergency information about the storm, sign up for Alert!Monroe at www.monroecountyem.com. Detailed County-wide storm information can be found at www.monroecountyem.com/JIC.