Hurricane Ian (2022) — Sebastian, Florida

Hurricane Ian brought Sebastian two days of tropical storm conditions on September 28 and 29, 2022, with flooded streets, surge on Indian River Drive and short power outages (Sebastian Daily).

Hurricane Ian was a Gulf coast hurricane that reached Sebastian as a long tropical storm. It came ashore on Florida's southwestern coast as a Category 4 hurricane on Wednesday, September 28, 2022, then crossed the state toward the Atlantic north of Indian River County, according to Vero News. Sebastian sat on the southern edge of the storm's worst weather, where the hazards were rain, high water in the lagoon and on low streets, gusty wind and short power outages.

The local record is mostly one of closures and flooding. City of Sebastian and Indian River County offices shut for two days, a special needs shelter opened at Treasure Coast Elementary in Sebastian, the City Council moved a budget meeting because of flooding, surge pushed onto Indian River Drive at high tide, and 3 to 5 inches of rain fell in Sebastian. The hurricane warning that many Sebastian phones received on September 28 applied to the coast from Sebastian Inlet northward, not to the city itself.

Sebastian Inlet marked the southern end of the National Hurricane Center's hurricane warning on September 28, 2022, so the inlet got a hurricane warning while the city of Sebastian stayed under a tropical storm warning (National Hurricane Center).

The line between the two warnings ran through Sebastian Inlet. At 11 a.m. EDT on September 28, 2022, the National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning from Sebastian Inlet, Florida northward to the Flagler/Volusia County line, because Ian's wind field was expected to expand on its north side as the storm moved toward the Atlantic. The 5 p.m. advisory kept that hurricane warning and listed a tropical storm warning from Flamingo to Sebastian Inlet (NHC advisory 25), which covered the city of Sebastian and the rest of Indian River County.

The split caused confusion in town. Sebastian Daily reported on September 28 that many people in Sebastian had received a hurricane warning alert, and Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers explained from the county's emergency command center that it was meant for residents near the Sebastian Inlet in Brevard County, where hurricane-force winds above 74 mph were expected that night. The National Weather Service forecast for Sebastian itself was sustained winds of 35 mph or greater with gusts of 45 to 50 mph.

The City of Sebastian declared a state of emergency by September 26, 2022, closed its offices for two days and relied on a county special needs shelter at Treasure Coast Elementary (Sebastian Daily).

Sebastian started preparing three days out. On Monday, September 26, 2022, Sebastian Daily reported that Indian River County, Brevard County and the City of Sebastian had declared a state of emergency and that a tropical storm watch had been issued at 5 p.m. for both counties. Mayor Jim Hill said that if Ian held its course, residents should expect some high winds and 4 to 6 inches of rain. By Tuesday the forecast had grown: Sebastian Daily passed on an NHC forecast of 6 to 10 inches of rain with gusts under 73 mph, and boaters in Sebastian were securing or moving their vessels.

The city's own read of the threat stayed measured. On September 27, Ian was a Category 3 hurricane about 10 miles north of Cuba with 125 mph winds, forecast to reach Category 4 before landfall on the west coast. Mayor Jim Hill told Sebastian Daily that it did not look like it was going to be a major event for the City of Sebastian, and urged residents in Micco, Sebastian, Fellsmere and Vero Beach to finish storm preparations that day in case the track shifted east.

Public services shut down for the storm. The City of Sebastian and Indian River County closed their offices on Wednesday and Thursday, September 28 and 29, and Waste Management stopped garbage collection on Wednesday, saying it would not operate when sustained wind speeds exceeded 35 mph (Sebastian Daily). Indian River County Emergency Services announced three shelters for noon on September 28, according to WPTV: Treasure Coast Elementary in Sebastian as the special needs shelter, Liberty Magnet in Vero Beach as the pet-friendly site, and the Freshman Learning Center in Vero Beach.

Sebastian saw flooding first on September 28, 2022, including surge on Indian River Drive at high tide, and tropical storm winds arrived only around 10 p.m. that night (Sebastian Daily).

Flooding came before the wind. On the afternoon of September 28, Sebastian Daily reported that roads in Sebastian, Fellsmere and Vero Beach were beginning to flood and that the Indian River County Sheriff's Office was asking everyone to remain home. Surge was already reaching Indian River Drive at high tide, several roads in Vero Lake Estates had flooded with stalled cars, and City of Sebastian crews were clearing ditches and culverts to keep the drainage system flowing (Sebastian Daily).

City government adjusted around the water. City Manager Paul Carlisle rescheduled the September 28 City Council budget-only meeting for Friday at 5 p.m. due to flooding, Sebastian Daily reported, and the county kept the causeway open with plans to close it only during tropical storm force winds. TCPalm reported that NWS Melbourne issued a tornado warning for Indian River County until 2:30 p.m. and a tornado watch for the whole county through 1 a.m. Thursday, and that County Administrator Jason Brown kept all public beaches closed. Outages stayed small through the daylight hours: at 5:15 p.m. the same live report counted approximately 190 FPL customers without power in Indian River County, with power restored to about 5,330.

The wind arrived late. Tropical-force winds started around 10 p.m. Wednesday in Sebastian, according to Sebastian Daily, and by Thursday morning many residents in Sebastian, Micco, Fellsmere and Vero Beach were without power while FPL triaged outages. The same report noted that most of the rain and bad weather stayed on the north side of the storm, that all bridges and the causeway stayed open throughout, and that county beaches remained closed on September 29 as Ian exited Florida near Titusville.

About 3 to 5 inches of rain fell in Sebastian, and Ian left flooded roads, broken signs and lost beach sand across Indian River County (TCPalm).

Rain totals in Sebastian ended well below the early forecasts. TCPalm reported on September 29, 2022 that between 3 and 5 inches of rain was reported in Sebastian, Vero Beach and Wabasso, citing National Weather Service meteorologists in Melbourne, compared with the 6 to 10 inches the NHC forecast two days earlier. Ian was downgraded to a tropical storm about 5 a.m. on September 29 and regained hurricane strength over the Atlantic that afternoon.

The visible damage in Indian River County was flooded roads, broken signs and lost beach sand. Vero News reported that Ian left roadways flooded, destroyed signs on local businesses and washed away sand from the beaches, and its photographs showed the Jungle Trail on the barrier island under water and a railroad crossing arm snapped by the wind. Federal recovery for the region ran under FEMA declaration DR-4673-FL, dated September 29, 2022, with an incident period of September 23 to November 4, 2022.