【1981 Archives】

During the arrival of Hurricane Ian981 ArchivesWednesday, webcams documented the impact of the storm in real time, making them a valuable resource for a public looking the understand this disaster.

As of early Wednesday afternoon ET, Hurricane Ian was a dangerous Category 4 hurricane, with winds of up to 155 miles per hour just off the coast of Florida, and moving toward the U.S. mainland after battering Cuba on Tuesday.

At 12:35 p.m. ET, Ian's intensity was increasing to the upper limits of Category 4, on its way to becoming a Category 5. Its eyewall came ashore on Sanibel and Captiva islands — barrier islands just off Florida's west coast, late in the morning.

Hurricane activity through the years has links to climate change. Some of these impacts are clear, particularly more serious rainfall and historic flooding, along with higher storm surges. Other impacts, like how the relentless warming oceansare affecting how strong these storms grow, are an intensive and ongoing area of research. 

While Ian's path has been notably unpredictable over the past few days, as possibilities narrow, it appears very likely that the storm will strongly impact populous communities around Gasparilla Sound-Charlotte Harbor, including Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda.

Webcam showed Hurricane Ian approaching Charlotte Harbor, Florida

A live feed by Dave Lewison and Scott McPartland on their YouTube channel, StormChasingVideo, showed the conditions in Charlotte Harbor as the storm drew nearer. That feed is no longer live, and is now an archive the storm's Wednesday onslaught.

• Extreme weather — not politicians — convinces Americans that climate change is real
• When will humanity ever hit the peak of its ever-growing carbon emissions?

Thousands were watching the live video, which depicts a suburban landscape, including a parking lot and a roadway, along with a view of a distant neighborhood, as winds and rain worsen.

UPDATED at Sept. 29, 10:41 a.m. ET: This article now reflects that the feed is no longer live, and that landfall has already occurred.

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