![]() The Tampa area sits at sea level, which makes it especially vulnerable to storm surge, weather service meteorologist Christianne Pearce said. ![]() And "it's very possible this thing could kind of wobble" further north than what computer models are suggesting. AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski said Tampa will still get a storm surge, but nothing like anticipated in earlier forecasts. Tampa was no longer the most likely place for landfall, but the local forecast still calls for massive amounts of rain. Tampa may not see landfall, but big hit likely Petersburg could still get a direct hit by a major hurricane for the first time in a century. Fort Myers is in the hurricane zone, and Tampa and St. ►The hurricane center expanded its hurricane warning to include Bonita Beach north through Tampa Bay to the Anclote River. ►Orlando International Airport will shut down Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Over 1,200 flights slated for Tuesday and Wednesday have been canceled due to the anticipated hurricane, according to flight-tracking site. 2,000 Guardsmen from Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina are also being activated to assist. ►DeSantis’ authorization, a total of 5,000 Florida Guardsmen are being activated to State Active Duty and pre-positioned at armories across the state for Ian response operations. ►In preparation for flooding and damages, 176 disaster shelters have opened and more shelters are expected to open, according to DeSantis. ►8,000 customers were without power in southeastern Florida and 30,000 utility workers are standing by to help respond to power outages, DeSantis said. WHAT IS STORM SURGE? Explaining a hurricane's deadliest and most destructive threat “This is a lot of nasty weather that we’re in store for over the next few days,” DeSantis said. He also raised the possibility that after landfall, a weakening Ian would continue to march across Central Florida before exiting the state Friday near Volusia County on the Atlantic coast. The Florida Keys saw hurricane-force winds and heavy rain late Tuesday as Ian advanced toward the state, DeSantis said during a news conference Tuesday night.Ī storm surge warning remains in effect along the state's west coast with the highest risk in the Naples to Sarasota region.ĭeSantis warned that flooding was likely across much of west Florida. The Gulf is going to be very angry as this comes in." "In some areas, there will be catastrophic flooding and life-threatening storm surge," DeSantis said Tuesday. "Because of the size of the storm, it's kicking up a lot of surge. DeSantis said there was potential for "historic" storm surge and flooding. The center of Ian is forecast to move over central Florida Wednesday night and Thursday morning and emerge over the western Atlantic by late Thursday.Īlong with the howling winds, parts of Central Florida could see 12 to 16 inches of rain, and 2 feet is possible in isolated areas, the hurricane center said. On the forecast track, the center of Ian is expected to approach the west coast of Florida within the hurricane warning area Wednesday morning, and make landfall later.Īt 5 a.m., the center of Hurricane Ian was located 75 miles west-southwest of Naples. LATEST NEWS: Hurricane Ian nears historic Category 5 status, closes in on FloridaĪs of Tuesday night, power outages were already occurring in the Florida Keys and South Florida, according to Florida Gov. Hundreds of thousands of Floridians faced mandatory evacuation orders as the National Hurricane Center expanded its hurricane warning along more than 150 miles of the state's Gulf Coast. Power outages can be expected statewide, Florida Power & Light warned. High winds and storm surge are still expected farther north into the Tampa Bay region, state Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said. Ian slammed into Cuba on Tuesday, a Category 3 monster pounding the island with 125 mph winds. Tornadoes also are a risk and several warnings and watches have been issued around the state into Wednesday morning as rain bands move across Florida. Hurricane Ian strengthened into an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds at 140 mph, and is expected to cause life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds and flooding in the Florida Peninsula, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday. For the latest coverage of Hurricane Ian from Wednesday, Sept. ![]() Watch Video: Hurricane Ian nears Florida, DeSantis urges evacuees to take their petsĮditor's note: This page recaps the news of Tuesday, Sept.
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