Tropical Depression forecast to become major Category 3 hurricane with sights set on Florida

A Tropical Depression swirling in the Caribbean is now forecast to become a major Category 3 storm headed for Florida.

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Severe Weather Team 2′s Brian Monahan said Tropical Depression 9 will slowly strengthen to a tropical storm over the weekend and rapidly intensify early next week. If it strengthens to a hurricane, the storm will mostly likely be called Ian.

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Florida is likely to see impacts and it’s possible Georgia could also see impacts, although there is still uncertainty to the storm’s path.

“(The storm) could pose a significant threat to the central or eastern Gulf by the middle to end of next week,” Monahan said. “We’re going to have to watch this one closely for possible impacts on Georgia down the line.”

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The last major hurricane to impact Florida was Michael, which made landfall on in the Florida panhandle in 2018 and caused an estimated $18.4 billion in damage. Michael moved into Georgia as a Category 2 hurricane.