Storm Ian strengthens into hurricane as Florida and Cuba forecast to be in path
Tropical storm Ian has strengthened into a hurricane set to unleash significant winds, flash floods and mudslides in Florida, Cuba and Jamaica, weather experts have warned.
The weather system is about 90 miles (150km) southwest of the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean Sea, according to the latest advisory issued by the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) on Monday.
Authorities in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province, about two hours southwest of capital Havana, are preparing to evacuate people before the storm is expected to hit the western part of the island en route to Florida.
A hurricane warning is in place in Grand Cayman, the largest of the Cayman Islands, together with Pinar del Rio and other Cuban provinces including Isla de Juventud and Artemisa.
The NHC tweeted on Monday morning: “Life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds are expected in portions of western Cuba beginning late today, and Ian is forecast to be at major hurricane strength when it is near western Cuba.
“Efforts to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.”
Florida governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency amid mounting concerns over the impact of the hurricane, with residents urged to monitor the storm’s evolving path and prepare for heavy rainfall, high winds and rising tides, leading to widespread disruption including power outages.
Weather models predict the hurricane will travel in the direction of Florida’s west coast or Panhandle region – but forecasters are currently unsure where it will make landfall.
Governor DeSantis told a news conference on Sunday: “We’re going to keep monitoring the track of this storm.
“But it really is important to stress the degree of uncertainty that still exists,” he warned.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned the storm would have ‘broad impacts through the state’. Pic: Tallahassee Democrat / AP
“Even if you’re not necessarily right in the eye of the path of the storm, there’s going to be pretty broad impacts through the state.”
US President Joe Biden has also declared an emergency, as authorities begin co-ordinating disaster relief and providing assistance to protect lives and property.
Mr Biden also delayed a planned trip to Florida on Tuesday due to the storm.
Senior hurricane specialist at the NHC, John Cangialosi, urged people to begin gathering supplies – amid reports of a rush on water and generators.
Residents in Tampa, Florida, queue for two hours to fill sandbags on Sunday. Pic: Tampa Bay Times via AP
Empty shelves stripped of water at a supermarket in Tampa, Florida. Pic: Tampa Bay Times / AP
“It’s a hard thing to say stay tuned, but that’s the right message right now,” he said.
“But for those in Florida, it’s still time to prepare.
“I’m not telling you to put up your shutters yet or do anything like that, but it’s still time to get your supplies.”
The approaching storm also delayed another planned attempt on Tuesday to launch NASA’s Artemis moon mission from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
Dr Reinhard Schiemann, associate professor at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading, warned of the impact climate change could have on tropical cyclones including Ian.
“Although the total number of tropical cyclones may not change much, or could even decrease, we expect to see increased peak wind speeds so that the fraction of category 4 and 5 cyclones – the worst and potentially most destructive – will increase.
“It is likely that the average rate of rainfall in tropical cyclones will also increase, because warmer air can hold more water and because at higher wind speeds the rate of moisture supply to a rainy area increases.
“We also expect that the most intense phase of tropical cyclones will tend to occur at higher latitudes than we have seen in the past.”
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Here’s how climate change could be at play.
In Canada, Storm Fiona washed away homes and knocked out electricity in two provinces after transforming from a post-tropical storm into a hurricane on Saturday.
Meanwhile in Italy at least 10 people died after “water-bomb” flash floods, likened to a tsunami, swept into Italy’s central region of Marche earlier this month.
Record-breaking rains in Pakistan triggering unprecedented floods affected 33 million and claimed the lives of hundreds of people including children, disaster officials said.
Donald Trump has agreed to send “top of the line weapons” to NATO to support Ukraine – and threatened Russia with “severe” tariffs if it doesn’t agree to end the war.
Speaking with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte during a meeting at the White House, the US president said: “We’ve made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons, and they’re going to be paying for them.
“This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment which is going to be purchased from the United States, going to NATO, and that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield.”
Pic: Reuters
Weapons being sent include surface-to-air Patriot missile systems and batteries, which Ukraine has asked for to defend itself from Russian air strikes.
Mr Trump also said he was “very unhappy” with Russia, and threatened “severe tariffs” of “about 100%” if there isn’t a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days.
The White House added that the US would put “secondary sanctions” on countries that buy oil from Russia if an agreement was not reached.
Later on Monday, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Mr Trump and said he was “grateful” for the US president’s “readiness to help protect our people’s lives”.
After criticising Vladimir Putin’s “desire to drag it out”, he said he appreciated “preparing a new decision on Patriots for Ukraine” – and added Kyiv is “working on major defence agreements with America”.
It comes after weeks of frustration from Mr Trump over Mr Putin’s refusal to agree to an end to the conflict, with the Russian leader telling the US president he would “not back down” from Moscow’s goals in Ukraine at the start of the month.
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Trump threatens Russia with ‘severe’ tariffs’
During the briefing on Monday, Mr Trump said he had held calls with Mr Putin where he would think “that was a nice phone call”, but then “missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city, and that happens three or four times”.
“I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy,” he added.
Earlier this year, Mr Trump told Mr Zelenskyy “you’re gambling with World War Three” in a fiery White House meeting, and suggested Ukraine started the war against Russia as he sought to negotiate an end to the conflict.
After Mr Trump’s briefing, Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev said on Telegram: “If this is all that Trump had in mind to say about Ukraine today, then all the steam has gone out.”
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Meanwhile, Mr Zelenskyy met with US special envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv, where they “discussed the path to peace” by “strengthening Ukraine’s air defence, joint production, and procurement of defence weapons in collaboration with Europe”.
He thanked both the envoy for the visit and Mr Trump “for the important signals of support and the positive decisions for both our countries”.
US
Trump is clearly fed up with Putin – but will his shift in tone force Russia to the negotiating table?
As ever, there is confusion and key questions are left unanswered, but Donald Trump’s announcement on Ukraine and Russia today remains hugely significant.
His shift in tone and policy on Ukraine is stark. And his shift in tone (and perhaps policy) on Russia is huge.
Ever since Mr Trump returned to the White House he has flatly refused to side with Ukraine over the Russian invasion.
He has variously blamed Ukraine for the invasion and blamed Joe Biden for the invasion, but has never been willing to accept that Russia is the aggressor and that Ukraine has a legitimate right to defend itself.
Today, all that changed. In a clear signal that he is fed up with Vladimir Putin and now fully recognises the need to help Ukraine defend itself, he announced the US will dramatically increase weapons supplies to Kyiv.
Pic: Reuters
But, in keeping with his transactional nature and in a reflection of the need to keep his isolationist “America-First” base on side, he has framed this policy shift as a multi-billion dollar “deal” in which America gains financially.
American weapons are to be “sold” to NATO partners in Europe who will then either transfer them to Ukraine or use them to bolster their own stockpiles as they transfer their own existing stocks to Kyiv.
“We’ve made a deal today,” the president said in the Oval Office. “We are going to be sending them weapons, and they are paying for them. We are manufacturing, they are going to be paying for it. Our meeting last month was very successful… these are wealthy nations.”
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What will Trump’s weapons deal mean for Ukraine?
This appears to be a clever framing of the “deal”. Firstly, America has always benefited financially by supplying weapons to Ukraine because much of the investment has been in American factories, American jobs and American supply chains.
While the details are not entirely clear, the difference now appears to be that the weapons would be bought by the Europeans or by NATO as an alliance.
The Americans are the biggest contributor to NATO, and so if the alliance is buying the weapons, America too will be paying, in part, for the weapons it is selling.
However, if the weapons are being bought by individual NATO members to replenish their own stocks, then it may be the case that the US is not paying.
NATO officials referred all questions on this issue to the White House, which has not yet provided clarity to Sky News.
It is also not yet clear what type of weapons will be made available and whether it will include offensive, as well defensive, munitions.
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Will Trump’s deal make a difference?
A key element of the package will likely be Patriot missile batteries, 10 to 15 of which are believed to be currently in Europe.
Under this deal, it is understood that some of them will be added to the six or so batteries believed to be presently in Ukraine. New ones would then be purchased from US manufacturers to backfill European stocks. A similar arrangement may be used for other weapons.
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The president also issued the Russian leader with an ultimatum, saying that Putin had 50 days to make a peace deal or else face 100% “secondary tariffs”. It’s thought this refers to a plan to tariff, or sanction, third countries that supply Russia with weapons and buy Russian oil.
This, the Americans hope, will force those countries to apply pressure on Russia.
But the 50-day kicking of the can down the road also gives Russia space to prevaricate. So, a few words of caution: first, the Russians are masters of prevarication. Second, Trump tends to let deadlines slip. And third, we all know Trump can flip-flop on his position repeatedly.
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‘Trump sides with the Ukrainian cause’
Maybe the most revealing aspect of all this came when a reporter asked Mr Trump: “How far are you willing to go if Putin sends more bombs in the coming days?”
“Don’t ask me questions like that…”
Mr Trump doesn’t really know what to do if Mr Putin continues to take him for a ride.
Mr Biden, before him, supplied Ukraine with the weapons to continue fighting.
If Mr Trump wants to end this, he may need to provide Ukraine with enough weapons to win.
But that would prolong, or even escalate, a war he wants to end now.
There’s the predicament.
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