Hurricane Ian near southwestern coast of U.S. Florida, 624,000 customers out of power

Hurricane Ian is "very near" the coast of the southwestern Florida Peninsula, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Wednesday afternoon.

Ian, a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 250 kilometers per hour, is causing catastrophic storm surges, winds, and flooding in the Florida Peninsula, according to the agency.

Ian is forecast to make landfall on the west coast of Florida later in the afternoon.

Weakening is expected after landfall, but Ian could be near hurricane strength when it moves over Florida's east coast on Thursday, and when it approaches the northeastern Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina coasts late Friday.

As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 624,000 customers are without power in Florida due to the storm, according to PowerOutage.us.