Coverage on this live blog has ended. Please click here for the latest updates.
Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida on Wednesday afternoon as a powerful Category 4 storm.
Maximum sustained winds were around 150 mph as it hit the southwest coast at the island of Cayo Costa near Fort Myers and Cape Coral.
By Wednesday night, more than 2 million customers were without power in the state, and communities along Florida's west coast had issued mandatory curfews.
Later Wednesday, the storm gradually weakened to a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds around 90 mph, but heavy rain continued to pummel the state, and storm surge warnings remained in effect.
The National Hurricane Center has warned of "life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds and flooding in the Florida Peninsula," with millions under evacuation orders.
Meanwhile, across Cuba, residents have been left without power after sweeping outages in Ian's wake.
Para información en español de Noticias Telemundo haga click aquí
Hurricane Ian winds drop further, flood risk remains
Hurricane Ian’s maximum sustained winds dropped to 75 mph by early Thursday, the day after it struck Florida as a powerful Category 4 storm.
But northeastern and central Florida were forecast to get 10 to 20 inches of rain, and up to 30 inches in some spots, the National Hurricane Center said. Florida’s eastern coast may also see a storm surge of 6 feet.
The storm, now a Category 1, was about 55 miles southwest of Cape Canaveral at 2 a.m., the hurricane center said in an advisory. It was moving northeast at 9 mph.
It did not appear that any deaths had been reported in the hurricane, but officials near where it struck earlier Wednesday said the damage was feared to be extensive and it was unknown how bad the situation was as high winds were continuing.
Man, 91-year-old mother ‘trapped’ on 22nd floor of Fort Myers, Florida, high-rise
Cape Coral hit by storm surge; residents trapped in homes and vehicles
Why ‘Category 4’ doesn’t begin to explain Hurricane Ian’s dangers
Hurricane Ian made landfall on Florida’s southwestern coast Wednesday as a strong Category 4 storm, making it one of only 15 Category 4 or 5 hurricanes on record to hit the state.
Its rating could understate how much destruction the storm brings.
Even as Ian gathered strength and neared Category 5 status, experts warned that solely paying attention to a hurricane’s category often masks just how destructive and life-threatening such storms can be — particularly as climate change makes hurricanes both rainier and more intense.
All flights out of Jacksonville airport canceled
The terminal at Jacksonville International Airport will be closed Thursday, and all flights in and out are canceled, the airport said.
The airport asked passengers to contact their airlines to rebook in an announcement on social media late Wednesday.
The airport had said Wednesday morning it would remain open as long as its airline partners and the Federal Aviation Administration deemed conditions safe to fly.
Jacksonville, on Florida's Atlantic coast, closed all three of its beaches Wednesday in preparation for Hurricane Ian's impacts.
The National Weather Service in Jacksonville has warned of extensive flash flooding, especially over northeast Florida, and it cautioned in an update Wednesday afternoon that the city could get 8 to 10 inches of rain.