The latest forecasts for Hurricane Ian suggest the massive, powerful storm will make landfall in Florida’s Sarasota County, farther south than previous predictions but still threatening statewide devastation, authorities said Tuesday.

Ian slammed into Cuba earlier Tuesday, a Category 3 monster pounding the island with 125 mph winds. It is now approaching Florida, and its shift eastward has put the city of Venice in the storm’s crosshairs sometime early afternoon Wednesday. High winds and storm surge are still expected farther north into the Tampa Bay region, state Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said. 

Hundreds of thousands of Floridians faced mandatory evacuation orders as the National Hurricane Center expanded its hurricane warning along more than 150 miles of the state’s Gulf Coast. Power outages can be expected statewide, Florida Power & Light warned.

Along with the howling winds, parts of Central Florida could see 12 to 16 inches of rain, and 2 feet is possible in isolated areas, the hurricane center said. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said there was potential for “historic” storm surge and flooding.

“In some areas there will be catastrophic flooding and life-threatening storm surge,”  DeSantis said Tuesday. “Because of the size of the storm, it’s kicking up a lot of surge. The Gulf is going to be very angry as this comes in.”

DeSantis warned that flooding was likely across much of west Florida. He also raised the possibility that after landfall, a weakening Ian would continue to march across Central Florida before exiting somewhere along the state’s Atlantic Coast. 

WHAT IS STORM SURGE? Explaining a hurricane’s deadliest and most destructive threat

Other developments:

►At 9 p.m., Ian was about 205 miles south of Sarasota, driving sustained winds of 120 mph, making it a Category 3 hurricane. The storm maintained its speed, moving north at 10 mph. The hurricane center continued to warn of life-threatening and catastrophic storm conditions, and flooding in the Florida peninsula.