Preparations underway for Hurricane Ian

(ABC 6 News) – With current wind speeds topping around 120 mph, Hurricane Ian is shaping up to be one of the most significant hurricanes Florida residents have experienced in years.

Meteorologists at National Weather Service (NWS) stations and across the country are launching extra weather balloons to provide more accurate data on Ian.

Typically, the NWS launches two balloons daily, but several offices have been launching four daily since Saturday.

Melissa Dye, a meteorologist at NWS Meteorologist in Chanhassen, MN explains why there is an increase in the launching of weather balloons all of a sudden.

“So that will send back information about temperature, pressure, wind speed, and all that gets ingested into the models that we’ll use to forecast the hurricanes for the National Hurricane Center,” Dye said.

It’s not only the National Weather Service that’s prepping; members of the salvation army are ready to go at a moment’s notice should people call for help.

Rebecca Snapp spent time down in Louisiana last year to help with relief for Hurricane Ida.

“I remember standing in six inches of water with rain pouring down on you, trying to box up meals for families and their cars. People that drive by, and they learn you came from Minnesota to make sure they had their basic needs covered,” Snapp explained.

Currently, there are eight trained members of the Salvation Army in Rochester ready to head south if needed.

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