VIDEOS: See how Hurricane Ian pummeled Florida on its approach to state

Storm expected to make landfall Wednesday afternoon near Port Charlotte

VERO BEACH, Fla. – Cities along the coast of southwest Florida are feeling the effects of Hurricane Ian.

The storm strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane early Wednesday and is expected to make landfall, possibly near Port Charlotte, later in the afternoon.

[TRENDING: SATELLITE, TRACK, MODELS: Hurricane Ian brings severe weather to Florida | Hurricane Ian: County-by-county impacts in Central Florida | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]

Strong winds battered the Isles of Capri – a community on Florida’s Gulf Coast – as Ian became a Category 4 over the Gulf of Mexico on Sept. 28.

Video from a local resident shows powerful gusts and low visibility in the Isles of Capri that morning.

Vero Beach was under a flood watch, a tropical storm warning and a tornado watch Wednesday morning.

Vero Beach Police on Twitter said three inches of rain had already fallen by 9:30 a.m.

Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily:


Recommended Videos