ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the United States, swamped southwest Florida on Wednesday, turning streets into rivers, knocking out power to 2 million customers, and threatening catastrophic damage further inland. A coastal sheriff’s office reported that it was getting many calls from people trapped in flooded homes….

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the U.S., swamped southwest Florida on Wednesday, turning streets into rivers, knocking out power to 1.8 million people and threatening catastrophic damage further inland. A coastal sheriff’s office reported that it was getting many calls from people trapped in homes. The hurricane’s…

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida near Cayo Costa on Wednesday as a catastrophic Category 4 storm. About 2.5 million people were ordered to evacuate southwest Florida before the storm hit the coast with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (241 kph). It was heading inland, where it was…

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida near Cayo Costa on Wednesday as a catastrophic Category 4 storm. About 2.5 million people were ordered to evacuate southwest Florida before the storm hit the coast with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (241 kph). It was heading inland, where it was expected to weaken,…

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Forecasters say Hurricane Ian has become an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm as it approaches Florida’s west coast. The. U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said at 5 a.m. Wednesday that Ian now has top sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph) and is centered about 75 miles (125 kilometers) west-southwest of Naples,…

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.,—Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified off Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday morning, gaining top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status. Damaging winds and rain lashed the state’s heavily populated Gulf Coast, with the Naples to Sarasota region at “highest risk” of a devastating storm surge. U.S….

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.,—Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified as it neared landfall along Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday morning, gaining top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status. Damaging winds and rain lashed the state, and forecasters said the heavily populated Fort Myers area could be inundated by a storm…

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Hurricane Ian’s most damaging winds began hitting Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday, lashing the state with heavy rain and pushing a devastating storm surge after strengthening to the threshold of the most dangerous Category 5 status. Fueled by warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, Ian grew to a catastrophic Category 4 hurricane overnight…