(CNN)Floridians are bracing for Tropical Storm Ian, which is expected to rapidly intensify and become hurricane Sunday before hitting western Cuba, bringing with it the threats of strong winds and storm surge as high as 9 to 14 feet, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Still, Florida officials are urging residents to be prepared for the worst, and the hurricane center warned Sunday morning of a "risk of dangerous storm surge, hurricane-force winds, and heavy rainfall along the west coast of Florida and the Florida Panhandle" by the middle of the week, regardless of the storm's exact track and strength.
"Everyone in Florida is going to feel the impacts of the storm," Kevin Guthrie, director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management, told CNN on Sunday, urging residents to be ready to evacuate if officials tell them to. "Everybody does need to be prepared."
In the meantime, Ian is expected to be a major hurricane -- one that is Category 3 or higher -- by the time it passes near or over western Cuba, the hurricane center said Sunday morning, and forecasters are becoming more confident residents will face life-threatening storm surge and hurricane force winds.
Meteorologists predict the storm will peak at Category 4 strength over the eastern Gulf of Mexico in three days. As of Sunday morning, Ian was about 320 miles south-southeast of Grand Cayman with maximum sustained winds up to 50 mph (85 kph), per the hurricane center, as it moved west-northwest at about 12 mph (19 kph).
Tropical storm conditions are possible across Cuba on Monday afternoon, and hurricane conditions will likely follow late Monday into Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center said. Ian is forecast to bring 4 to 8 inches of rain with isolated totals up to 12 inches possible in western Cuba. That could contribute to flash flooding or even mudslides in areas of high terrain. And storm surge is forecast along the coast of western Cuba from Monday night into Tuesday.
According to the hurricane center, Ian will keep its major hurricane status as it moves north through the Gulf of Mexico.
Florida readies for potential hurricane, flooding and winds
As the storm approaches Florida, authorities are distributing sandbags and asking Floridians to prepare their property to reduce the risk of storm damage and to stock up on supplies like radios, water, canned food and medication. Residents should also pack up important documents and know their evacuation routes.
"This is the calm before the storm," Naples Mayor Teresa Heitmann told CNN on Saturday. "We experience this kind of adrenaline before a storm and the path could change at any time, but we want our citizens to be ready."
Storm surge -- when the force of a hurricane or storm pushes ocean water onto the shore -- can be one of the greatest threats to life and property from a hurricane.
"We're outside of the cone of uncertainty. We can't relax," Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told CNN on Saturday. "We know there's always a possibility it will shift. The storm has continued to move westward. This is the time everyone should make sure they have a plan."
Levine Cava urged residents to make sure they have enough food and water and check their storm surge planning zone.
"We're very hopeful that even with a major rain event, we'll be able to manage it," she said. "We're on standby. We have extra pumps, and we've worked with the South Florida Water Management District to lower canal levels."
Miami-Dade County is preparing its "extensive shelter system," including for those fleeing the Florida Keys if evacuations are ordered there.
Heitmann is already seeing lines at the gas stations in Naples as residents brace for the potential hurricane, she said.
"They're taking it serious, and I encourage those that are not to always take a storm serious, because you can never estimate where that storm might turn. And we need to be prepared and if it's not coming directly for us, it might have strong winds," Heitmann said.
In Sarasota, authorities are checking on generators, planning with local police, trying to estimate how much flooding is possible and warning residents to be prepared, Mayor Erik Arroyo told CNN.
"Don't underestimate the dangers that come with gusts, with storm surges, with flooding, especially us being a coastal city. So we're telling them to go now, be prepared early," Arroyo said.
