Live Updates: Hurricane Ian grows into "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm as it bears down on...

Hurricane Ian grew into an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm packing sustained winds of 155 mph early Wednesday, just hours before it was expected to make landfall on Florida's southwest coast. About 2.5 million people were under mandatory evacuation orders as the hurricane started lashing the Florida peninsula with heavy rain and tropical-storm-force winds in the early hours.
Strengthening of the storm overnight was "really, really significant," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a press conference Wednesday morning. And emergency management directors in southwest Florida are now preparing for – and expecting – a Category 5 hurricane, said Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.