Monday evening tropics check

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Hurricane Ian will strengthen as it moves into the Gulf on Tuesday. The forecast track remains uncertain as it moves toward the western Florida peninsula. Models slow the storm to a crawl with some keeping it barely offshore and others moving onshore north of Tampa and some even south. The exact track will determine where the most significant impacts will be.

For now the biggest impacts should be mainly east of NWFL although Franklin Co is under a Tropical Storm Watch. A storm surge of 1-3′ will be possible near Franklin Co, but no surge is expected elsewhere in the panhandle. The main threat for NWFL will be rainfall although it would not surprise me if areas west of Panama City did not see any rain.

For more on the tropics make sure to check out the Facebook Live Chat from Monday evening below from Chief Meteorologist Chris Smith.

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