Hurricane Ian over the northern coast of Pinar del Río

HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 27 (ACN) The center of Hurricane Ian was estimated at nine o'clock this Tuesday morning at 22.8 degrees North latitude and 83.6 degrees West longitude, over the northern coast of Pinar del Río, near Puerto Esperanza, with maximum sustained winds of 205 kilometers per hour and a minimum central pressure of 950 hectoPascal.

According to Tropical Cyclone Warning No. 21, issued by the Institute of Meteorology of Cuba (Insmet), the intense hurricane, category three on the Saffir-Simpson scale, out of a maximum of five, is moving north at 19 kilometers per hour.

In the next six to 12 hours Ian will have little change in organization and intensity and will maintain a northerly course, gradually moving over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, moving its center away from Cuban territory.

According to the Insmet Forecast Center report, during the early morning, heavy and intense rains associated with the spiral bands of Hurricane Ian have increased.

The most significant accumulated rainfall was reported at the San Juan y Martínez weather station, Pinar del Río, with 202 millimeters (mm), followed by Amistad Cuba-France, with 148.7 mm; 134.4 mm in La Fé, and 121.0 mm in Punta del Este, all in the special municipality Isla de la Juventud.
The areas of showers, rains and electrical activity remain crossing over the western provinces of Pinar del Rio, Artemisa, Mayabeque and Matanzas, increasing in Havana, Insmet said.

This situation will persist during the morning and afternoon, and the occurrence of severe weather is not ruled out, it warned.

Hurricane-force winds of over 120 kilometers per hour (km/h) have been maintained in Pinar del Río, with a gust of 184 km/h being registered in the capital city.

Regarding hurricane winds, Insmet said that they will have a tendency to decrease since the end of the morning; it indicated that tropical storm winds between 70-85 kilometers per hour are affecting Artemisa, Mayabeque and Havana, which will persist on the Isle of Youth until the end of the morning.

Heavy coastal flooding remains on the coast of the Gulf of Guanahacabibes, north of the province of Pinar del Rio and the southern coast of Artemisa and Mayabeque. Flooding will be moderate in the south of the Isle of Youth and Pinar del Rio.