Downtown Orlando traffic light pole falls as Hurricane Ian blows through

ORLANDO, Fla. – A traffic-light pole along Orange Avenue fell to the roadway in downtown Orlando as heavy gusts and rains from Hurricane Ian struck the area.

Early Thursday morning, News 6 reporter Treasure Roberts came across the pole, which had fallen and was leaning against the ground.

[TRENDING: SATELLITE, TRACK, MODELS: Hurricane Ian brings severe weather to Florida | Hurricane Ian: County-by-county impacts in Central Florida | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]

Despite the hectic weather, a car could be seen driving under the pole.

“This should just show you how powerful the winds are right now in downtown Orlando in Orange County,” Roberts said. “This is the Livingston Street pole. You can see, it’s crashed to the ground.”

Ian moved into Central Florida Wednesday night through Thursday after making landfall along Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday.

At the time of its landfall, Ian was a Category 4 hurricane with top sustained wind speeds of 150 mph, making it one of the most powerful storms to ever hit Florida.

Wind speeds for Orange County were forecast at up to 70 - 90 mph for early Thursday morning.

Follow updates on Hurricane Ian:

• TRACK, MODELS, SATELLITE: Hurricane Ian enters Gulf of Mexico on projected path toward Central Florida
• How Central Florida theme parks are handling Hurricane Ian
• Here’s when Central Florida schools are closed due to Hurricane Ian
• Here are the Central Florida road, bridge closures due to Hurricane Ian
• INTERACTIVE MAP: Use this Florida tool to find out whether you should evacuate before a storm