As Hurricane Ian Barrels Toward Florida, NY Braces For Heavy Rain

LONG ISLAND, NY — As Florida braces for the wrath of Hurricane Ian, with residents battening down the proverbial hatches, many in New York are wondering if any impacts from the storm will be seen this far north.

According to AccuWeather.com, Hurricane Ian is projected to continue strengthening rapidly after moving over Cuba. "AccuWeather forcasters have rated the storm a 3 on its RealImpact Scale for hurricanes when it slams into Florida, due to threats including excessive rainfall, storm surge, winds and even severe weather," AccuWeather.com said.

Even after Hurricane Ian moves away from Florida, the storm is expected to spread flooding and heavy rains along the East Coast as far north as the mid-Atlantic, Accuweather.com said.

With about five to seven days before any impacts are felt in New York, a local Long Island meteorologist gave a glimpse of what may transpire.

"The remnants of Hurricane Ian could give a glancing blow to the area," said Bill Goodman, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Upton. The impact will be mainly rainfall, he said.

"We're not expecting winds or a storm surge or anything like that," he said. However, he added, "The timing is a bit uncertain."

As of Tuesday, a warm front moving up the coast is expected to bring rainfall to the New York region Saturday night into Sunday, Goodman said. Then, the actual remnants of Hurricane Ian may pass to the south of New York Monday or Tuesday night of next week, bringing additional rainfall.

"There could be two different rounds of precipitation," he said. With heavy rain expected in southern New Jersey, New York could also see about an inch or two of rain, Goodman said, adding, "We can handle that. It will actually be beneficial and ease drought conditions."

Ian's wind and storm surges will be wrapped up before any remnants make their way to New York, he said.

Goodman added that with the weather event still about five to seven days out from New York, forecasters will be able to predict actual rainfall amounts within the three-to-five day range. "At this point, it's just something to watch," he said.

Meanwhile, Goodman said Hurricane Ian is expected to begin slamming southern Florida late Tuesday, into Wednesday morning, and will then probably move across a good deal of the state, with the center near Jacksonville on Friday.

"It's going to be an ordeal in terms of rainfall, with wind and storm surge mostly through Wednesday night or Thursday," he said.