September 27, 2022 Florida braces for Hurricane Ian

The City of Punta Gorda in Florida will suspend all emergency services once sustained winds reach an excess of 45 miles per hour, according to a statement released Tuesday night.

“Emergency and non-emergency phone lines will still be open for calls, but police and fire response will not be possible until the storm has passed,” the statement noted. 

The statement said that once it’s safe, the emergency calls will be answered in order of priority.

“There may be serious delays in response even after the storm has passed depending on damage, road blockage, and flood waters,” the city added. 

Punta Gorda is in southwest Florida, about 100 miles south of Tampa.

The White House is closely tracking Hurricane Ian as it barrels toward Florida, with President Joe Biden receiving regular updates and speaking with local officials in the storm’s projected path ahead of landfall in the US. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, Hurricane Ian remains at Category 3. The storm’s winds rose slightly to 120 miles per hour, after decreasing as a result of making landfall over western Cuba. Ian is expected to continue strengthening and to hit Florida on Wednesday.

“(The) forecast can change, but for now the experts say this could be a very severe hurricane, life threatening and a devastating impact,” Biden said from the Rose Garden Tuesday at an event for lowering health care costs. “The administration is on alert and in action to help the people of Florida.”

Biden spoke with Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis Tuesday evening, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted, “to discuss the steps the Federal government is taking to help Florida prepare for Hurricane Ian.”

“The President and the Governor committed to continued close coordination,” Jean-Pierre said

Jean-Pierre said earlier during Tuesday’s press briefing that Biden held separate calls with Mayors Jane Castor of Tampa, Ken Welch of St. Petersburg and Frank Hibbard of Clearwater.

Biden later said the mayors he called are “focused on the safety of their communities and they’re doing everything they can to get people out of harm’s way.” The President relayed that he “told each one of them in my conversations separately, whatever they need — I mean it sincerely, whatever they need — contact me directly.”

An updated schedule for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shows that he had a call with President Joe Biden shortly after a 5:30 p.m. ET media briefing on Hurricane Ian.

During the briefing, DeSantis said he has yet to speak with the President and that his “phone line is open.” 

DeSantis’ updated schedule shows he had a 6:30 p.m. ET call with Biden.

CNN has reached out to DeSantis’ office for any readout or information on the call. 

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed the call between the governor and Biden in a tweet.

The call is notable given Biden had not spoken to DeSantis until now about the storm.

Instead FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell had been in communication with DeSantis. 

Cuba is experiencing a nationwide blackout, according to state media.

Officials said Hurricane Ian, which wreaked havoc in western Cuba on Tuesday, caused the power outage. 

In a social media posting, Cuba’s state-run National Electric System said the current output for the island nation of 11 million people was at zero percent.

Officials said they hope to begin restoring power late Tuesday or early Wednesday. 

Earlier, the state electric company, Unión Eléctrica de Cuba, said it would keep off the power in Havana to avoid deaths or damage to property until the weather improves, following the hurricane-strength rains and winds that hit the capital.

Hurricane Ian’s outer bands are bringing sustained tropical storm-force winds to the Florida Keys, according to the 8 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center.

A National Data Buoy Center site near Sombrero Key recently reported a sustained wind of 43 mph and the Florida Keys Marathon International Airport reported a wind gust of up to 52 mph.

During the last hour, the Key West International Airport reported a sustained wind of 48 mph and a gust to 71 mph.

Tolls have been suspended on central Florida toll roads in preparation for Hurricane Ian, according to a Seminole County government statement. 

Toll roads include:  

The penalty trial for Nikolas Cruz, the Parkland High School shooter, resumed on Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale with the state beginning its rebuttal case. 

The Broward County Courthouse is closed Wednesday and Thursday in advance of Hurricane Ian. The court proceedings for the trial were originally expected to go through the rest of the week with a half-day scheduled for Friday.  

“Even if the courthouse is open [on Friday] the consensus is to finish the doctor’s testimony on Monday,” said Judge Elizabeth Scherer after conferring with state prosecutors and defense attorneys about scheduling.  

In October 2021, Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on February 14, 2018.    

Jurors will be tasked with sentencing Cruz to death or to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Jurors must be unanimous for a death sentence, according to Florida law. 

Cuba’s state electric company, Unión Eléctrica de Cuba (UNE), says it will keep the power off in Havana to avoid deaths or damage to property until the weather improves, following the hurricane-strength rains and winds that hit the capital in the wake of Ian.

UNE said it turned off the power ahead of the storm to avoid people being electrocuted as well as to prevent fires.  

Cuba’s aging power grid has been plagued with blackouts all summer which has led to rare protests against the government. 

The Florida Keys have begun to experience the effects of Hurricane Ian as tropical storm winds have started gusting through Monroe County, an official said.

Shannon Weiner, Monroe County Emergency Management director, told CNN’s Erin Burnett that the Keys are experiencing tropical storm force winds of 40 to 50 miles an hour and some heavy gusts of 60 to 70 mph in Key West.

According to Weiner, rain has been falling off and on all day and in some areas, more than six inches of water has fallen. 

“We do expect it to worsen overnight. We are beginning to see a few power outages throughout the lower Keys — some downed trees in residential areas. So, we are very closely monitoring the situation as we move through the evening and early morning hours,” she said. 

Weiner said officials are urging people who are enjoying staying out in the elements to seek shelter with family or friends particularly after nightfall as the conditions continue to deteriorate. 

A Florida emergency management official is urging people in Hurricane Ian’s path to “evacuate now,” warning that several issues – including inaccessible bridges – could make leaving some areas impossible in as little as a few hours.

The main concern is flooding, said Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, noting that some areas could be “under water” by tomorrow morning.

According to the most recent forecast from the National Hurricane Center, the very powerful storm is on track to hit Florida on Wednesday, bringing high winds, rain and storm surges as high as several feet in some places.

More than 2.5 million people are under some sort of an evacuation order late Tuesday.

And if residents don’t depart shortly, they also may be an issue at the bridges.

“Here in the state of Florida, when we get our bridges to a point where we have 40-mile-an-hour sustained winds of one minute or more, then we shut those bridges down,” he said.

While he said most of those bridges will leave outgoing lanes of traffic open, Guthrie still reiterated that the time for people to leave is “now.”

Port closures have forced Carnival Cruise Lines and Norwegian Cruise Lines to cancel voyages ahead of Hurricane Ian.

Carnival Cruise Lines: With the closure of the Port of Tampa Bay and the Port of Jacksonville, the company canceled multiple cruises planned for Thursday including; a four-day Carnival Paradise cruise which was sailing from Tampa and a four-day Carnival Elation cruise which was sailing from Jacksonville, a spokesperson said.

Guests will receive a full refund and a 25% future cruise credit, according to a Carnival spokesperson. 

Carnival also had to reroute or change ports on other ships due to Hurricane Ian. 

Norwegian Cruise Lines has canceled its 10-day voyage of the Norwegian Getaway which was scheduled to depart Thursday from Port Canaveral. 

Norwegian also changed the itinerary of its eight-day sail on Norwegian Sky, which left Miami on Sunday. Instead of its scheduled Western Caribbean stops, the ship will now make stops in the Eastern Caribbean.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will provide an update on the status of Hurricane Ian in an 11 p.m. ET news conference on Tuesday from the state emergency operations center in Tallahassee. 

DeSantis will be joined by Kevin Guthrie, state Department of Emergency Management director and Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue.

The governor’s earlier update could be viewed as a live stream on his Twitter account.

More than 30,000 workers from at least 23 states are being mobilized to respond to any power outages caused by Hurricane Ian, according to the Edison Electric Institute.

“Customers in Ian’s path are urged to pay attention to local alerts and to heed all safety and evacuation warnings,” a statement from the company said.

The Edison Electric Institute is the association that represents all US investor-owned electric companies, the statement shows.

Hurricane Ian is expected to impact most of Florida this week, according to CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller. Afterward, the system is expected to bring rain and wind to parts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina as a tropical storm, Miller said.

CNN’s Brandon Miller contributed to this report

Although Hurricane Ian’s track has shifted south, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said mandatory evacuations and preparations are continuing. 

“The latest predicted path of hurricane Ian shows that it may land a little further south than first anticipated, which wouldn’t be good news for our neighbors, but would be for the Tampa Bay area,” she said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Sherry Jacobs, a spokesperson for Tampa Electric who was also at the news conference, said power to downtown Tampa will not be interrupted as was previously planned now that the storm has shifted.

Castor said that even with the slight change in trajectory, Tampa will not come out of the storm unscathed. In anticipation of high water, she urged people to evacuate from flood zones. People are heeding that warning so far, according to Castor, with record numbers of people on the interstates.

She also said that police officers have been going into neighborhoods to make sure mobile homes in evacuation zones have been cleared. Tampa Police Department Chief Mary O’Connor said there are approximately 1,000 police officers on the streets of Tampa ready to assist.

O’Connor said that while the state of emergency is in place, any burglary or thefts that are committed will bring stiffer penalties, a move that she believes will help protect businesses and residences.  

Several rivers across central and western Florida are already above flood stage before the arrival of Hurricane Ian.

More than double the normal amount of rain has fallen over southern Florida in the past two weeks, with amounts over 6 inches in many areas as a result of a stationary front that has been draped over the state. 

The Peace River, which flows from central Florida in Polk County and empties into Charlotte Harbor, has several gauges above flood stage on Tuesday.

In Arcadia, the river is at 13.5 feet, which is already high enough to affect several dozen homes along the river, according to NOAA and USGS data. The river is expected to rise several more feet in the coming days as Ian’s rainfall flows into the river, bringing it to major flood stage.

The already high rivers will make river flooding even more of a threat as Ian dumps torrential rainfall over the next 48 hours. The hurricane’s winds could also push a dangerous surge up the Peace River, causing a bottleneck that would lead to even more flooding in Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda.

Hundreds of Publix grocery stores will close Tuesday and are expected to remain closed through Thursday due to Hurricane Ian, according to Maria Brous, Publix director of communications.

Brous told CNN that the following counties will see closures Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. ET and will reopen on Friday:

“Information continues to evolve, and additional stores and counties have or will be added,” Brous said.

Meanwhile, stores in Polk and Highlands Counties are expected to remain open until 4 p.m. ET, Wednesday and remain closed through Thursday, reopening Friday, according to Brous.

Officials in Florida are urging residents in the path of Hurricane Ian to follow evacuation orders.

 Standing beside Gov. Ron DeSantis and other officials, Guthrie left in no doubt that those who ignored the warnings would be courting possible disaster.

“I implore, I urge everyone that is in an evacuation zone that has been asked to evacuate – the time is now. You must evacuate now. There will be a time when it will not be safe to travel the roads,” Guthrie said.

“There will come a point in time when local public safety officials will not be able to respond to your cry for help. You may be left to fend for yourself. Again — the time to evacuate is now,” he added.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will be closed Wednesday and Thursday of this week due to Hurricane Ian, according to a news release.

“The decision was made after reviewing the latest forecast of Hurricane Ian and to ensure the safety of visitor complex guests and crewmembers,” the news release noted.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is located on Merritt Island, Florida.

CNN’s Devon Sayers contributed to this report.

Over 2.5 million people in Florida are now under some type of evacuation order, Gov. Ron DeSantis said during an update on Tuesday evening.

At least 1.75 million people are under mandatory evacuation orders, according to a tally by CNN of local city and county governments.  

“These hazards are real,” DeSantis said, urging Floridians to heed evacuation orders in their counties.

In addition, he said:

Hurricane Ian remains a 120 mph, Category 3 storm, on Tuesday afternoon, but the wind field is expanding, according to the 5 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center. 

Hurricane-force winds now extend up to 40 miles from the center, which could potentially expose more of Florida to destructive winds as the storm moves onshore in about 24 hours.

The official forecast from the hurricane center nudged a little further south in the latest update, continuing a trend in forecast guidance over recent updates.

Landfall is likely to occur on Wednesday afternoon to evening between Sarasota and Port Charlotte as a borderline Category 3 or Category 4 major hurricane.

“Whether Ian comes ashore as Category 4 hurricane or a large Category 3… avoiding a large and destructive hurricane for Florida seems very unlikely, and residents should heed the advice of local emergency management officials,” the center said.

Charlotte County is bracing for life-threatening impacts as Hurricane Ian approaches, Patrick Fuller, the county Emergency Management director, told reporters on Tuesday.

“Ian is a major hurricane and we are forecast to receive life-threatening impacts here in Charlotte County. We urge our residents and visitors to seek shelter,” Fuller said.

He added that Red and Orange zones in the county are now under mandatory evacuation orders. The decision was prompted by a change in the storm’s forecast track that increased storm surge vulnerability in those areas. 

Authorities now expect a storm surge of anywhere from 6 to 12 feet in Charlotte County, which is located on the southwest coast of Florida. 

Fuller urged residents and visitors to seek shelter now. He said that all evacuation orders are considered mandatory, that the county does not issue voluntary orders, and also warned residents that they may not be able to assist those who choose to stay. 

The orders affect about 120,000 residents, Fuller added.

And for those residents still trying to decide whether to stay and ride out the storm, Fuller said that window is closing. “Time is getting short so now is the time to make your preparedness decisions and evacuate those area and seek safety.”

Flagler County officials are asking some county residents to prepare to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Ian, according to a Tuesday press conference.

Flagler County is located on the east coast of Florida, just north of Daytona Beach.

The Flagler County Emergency Management is specifically warning certain residents:

“At this time, we have not ordered an evacuation. But we want residents living in those areas to be prepared no later than tonight as we will likely order evacuations tomorrow morning,” Jonathan Lord, the director of Flagler County Emergency Management, said at a news conference on Tuesday. 

Lord said the area will likely see tropical storm force winds Wednesday afternoon through midday Friday.

“Tomorrow, once we solidify the evacuation shelter opening times, the Emergency Operations Center will announce the final areas under the evacuation order and the times which shelters will officially open,” Lord said.

Flagler County Public Schools will also be closed through the remainder of the week, according to a tweet posted Tuesday.

A tornado watch for southern Florida was extended until 5 a.m. ET Wednesday morning, the Storm Prediction Center said.

Over 7 million people live in the tornado watch area, which includes Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Fort Myers.

“A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area,” the SPC said.

Tornadoes are frequently associated with hurricanes and tropical storms and can occur hundreds of miles from the center of the hurricane. Tornadoes in tropical systems tend to be short-lived and difficult to predict with much lead-time compared to more traditional tornadoes produced by supercells and strong thunderstorms in the Central Plains and South.

Hurricane Ian is still on track to bring “life-threatening storm surge,” damaging winds and flooding to the Florida peninsula over the next few days.

The National Hurricane Center’s most recent 5 p.m. ET advisory extends the hurricane warning southward in the southwestern part of Florida.

Now, a hurricane warning is in effect for Chokoloskee to the Anclote River, including Tampa Bay and the Dry Tortugas, a national park made up of a series of islands, according to the forecast. The hurricane center said Ian is about 50 miles away from the Dry Tortugas.

A storm surge warning is also in effect for much of the western part of the peninsula.

Ian’s track: The hurricane center said the storm is forecasted to move over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday. It will pass west of the Florida Keys later Tuesday night and hit the west coast of the state on Wednesday, according to the advisory.

The hurricane center said Ian has maximum sustained winds near 120 mph — and that’s expected to get stronger.

Venice, Florida, is suspending potable water services to the island starting tonight around 8 p.m. ET, the city tweeted.

“Water service will be left off throughout the duration of the storm and while any repairs are completed,” it said.

“Please prepare accordingly and collect and store as much water as possible, including bottled water, plastic jugs, filling your bathtub, etc. Another advisory will be issued once water service has been restored,” it continued. 

Universal Orlando Resort theme parks and CityWalk will be closed Wednesday and Thursday due to Hurricane Ian, the company tweeted Tuesday.

“Our hotels are currently at full capacity and will remain operational as they take care of our guests,” Universal Orlando Resort tweeted.

Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Florida will also be canceled Wednesday and Thursday, a separate tweet noted.

The Disney World theme parks in Orlando, Florida, are set to close ahead of Hurricane Ian, according to a company statement on Tuesday. It said theme parks and water parks will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday.

“We are monitoring weather conditions so we can make timely decisions for the safety of our Cast and Guests, including when it’s safe for Cast to return to the site to prepare for reopening,” the statement said.

The company said Disney Springs will also be closed Wednesday and likely Thursday, but said it would monitor storm conditions.

There will be a countywide curfew in Volusia County, Florida, starting Wednesday night, Volusia Sheriff Michael Chitwood announced during a Tuesday news conference. 

The curfew will be in effect each evening from 8 p.m. ET to 7 a.m. ET Wednesday to Friday. 

The curfew does not apply to first responders or employees of local businesses, industries or government entities while traveling to and from work. 

Chitwood said they don’t want residents out during the height of the storm.

Volusia County is located on Florida’s East Coast northeast of Orlando. 

The city of Miami Beach, Florida, has declared a state of emergency as tropical storm conditions and flooding in low-lying areas are expected to impact the area, according to a tweet Tuesday.

“While Miami Beach is not expected to experience any direct impacts from Hurricane Ian, I am declaring a state of emergency out of an abundance of caution,” Miami Beach city manager Alina Hudak said in a statement Tuesday.

All parks and recreation programs will be canceled Wednesday and Thursday in the city, a news release said.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has issued a state of emergency for the state ahead of Hurricane Ian, his office announced in a news release Tuesday. 

The emergency order is for all Georgia counties, the release said. 

“As the storm moves through the state beginning on Friday and exiting on Sunday, heavy rainfall and damaging winds will be possible throughout Georgia. The State of Emergency will go into effect at 7:00am on Thursday, September 29, and will expire at midnight on Friday, October 28,” it said. 

“Damaging winds will be possible statewide, even well away from the center of the storm, and downed trees and powerlines are possible statewide on Friday and Saturday. Widespread rainfall of 2 to 4 inches is also possible statewide, with 4 to 6 inches or more forecast in Southeast Georgia. Flash flooding, power outages, and other dangerous situations are possible, especially in Southeast Georgia,” it continued.

In a message to residents, Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard said that it is becoming too late to evacuate.

Clearwater, Florida, is part of Pinellas County, which has at least 442,000 people under mandatory evacuation orders. 

“If you have not yet evacuated, if you have not yet gotten supplies, it’s becoming too late. You just need to shelter in place and wait out the storm,” Hibbard told CNN’s Erica Hill on CNN Newsroom Tuesday afternoon. 

Hibbard said that it is important to remember that even after the storm has passed, the danger has not and trees and electrical lines could still be down in the area. 

“The entire state will be touched by the storm,” he said. 

The US Navy will move four ships from Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville and evacuate non-essential active-duty military and other personnel from 10 Florida counties in preparation for Hurricane Ian, a release from US Fourth Fleet said Tuesday.

One of the ships, the littoral combat ship USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul, was moved earlier today. The other three ships will depart Jacksonville this afternoon.

The six remaining ships stationed at the port will stay and US Navy service members will “heavy weather moor” them at Naval Station Mayport, the release said. Some aircraft are expected to be relocated as well, but the release did not specify how many would be moved. 

Rear Adm. Wes McCall, Navy Region Southeast, “has authorized the evacuation of non-essential active-duty military, civilian employees, drilling reservists, and authorized dependents,” from 10 Florida counties, including “Charlotte, Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota,” the release said. 

“Given the storm’s unpredictability and the forecasted winds and storm surge, civilian authorities along the west coast have issued mandatory evacuations,” McCall said in the release. “Since these evacuations will affect our military personnel and their families I have authorized the evacuations of those personnel located in the mandatory evacuation zones in Florida.”   

All Navy installations in the Jacksonville area are “currently open,” and are currently to set to US Navy Hurricane Condition of Readiness Three, the release said.

Seminole County entered level 1 emergency activation Tuesday as officials make preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Ian, officials said at a news conference.

The county has handed out tens of thousands of sandbags, according to Alan Harris, Office of Emergency Management manager.

County offices will be closed beginning Tuesday, although employees will move to disaster positions in order to serve the community, Harris said.  

According to Serita Beamon, Seminole County Public Schools Superintendent, district schools will be closed Wednesday and remain closed through Friday with many of them becoming shelters.  

Beamon said many of the district’s staff will serve as volunteers at the shelters to help families through the storm. 

According to Harris, evacuation orders will be issued Wednesday morning for flood-prone areas, mobile home parks and for those who have special needs. Eight shelters will open Wednesday morning for those in need. 

“Be mindful of water usage and minimize water usage as the storm approaches to ease pressure on the system,” Harris said. “Conserving water helps to prevent sewer backups. The water should be used only for essential functions.”

Harris warned residents to plan for high winds, tornados and power outages. 

Seminole State College will also be closed Wednesday through Sunday. 

There are just more than 1.75 million people under mandatory evacuation orders across the state of Florida at this hour. 

Here’s the breakdown by county:

Note: St John’s County has a mandatory evacuation that goes into effect on Wednesday and is not included in this current list. When it goes into effect at 6 a.m. ET tomorrow, another 180,000 people will be under mandatory evacuation orders.

A total of 2.5 million Floridians are currently under some kind of evacuation order — either mandatory or voluntary — according to Florida officials. 

Officials in St. Petersburg, Florida, are telling residents to heed the evacuation orders and to conserve water if they decide to stay in the city. 

“Even though the center of the projected track of the hurricane has shifted further south, this is not the time to let our guard down,” mayor Ken Welch said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon. 

Welch said that no matter where the storm hits, the city is expected to see wind, rain, flooding, tornadoes, and high storm surge. 

“You don’t need to go to Georgia. You just need to get to higher ground in a non-evacuation zone with your storm kit and supplies,” he added.

The city’s public works administrator Claude Tankersley asked anyone who remains in the city to conserve the water they use during the storm so that all sewage and wastewater systems will continue to operate during and after the storm. 

“For those of us who remain, I want to ask you — I want to plead with you actually — during the storm, reduce the amount of water you are using,” he said. 

The city asks that residents do not use dishwashers and washing machines, limit flushing and limit showering. 

As calls for mandatory evacuations and warnings of storm surge and strong winds from Hurricane Ian grow more urgent in Florida, local governments and state agencies are trying to prepare one of its most vulnerable groups — those living in nursing homes and other senior care facilities.

Florida has around 6 million citizens over the age of 60, according to according to the state’s Department of Elder Affairs — nearly 30% of its total population. As of Tuesday, all adult day cares, senior community cafes, and transportation services in evacuation zones are closed, according to the department.

“The department is ensuring emergency plans are being followed and providers have region-specific resources needed to serve seniors before and after the storm,” Sarah Stevenson, the department’s director of communications, told CNN.

“Providers in the projected path of the storm distributed shelf-stable meals to senior clients that would normally receive home-delivered meals,” Stevenson said. The elderly population, just like low-income, marginalized communities, are among the most vulnerable groups when it comes extreme weather disasters.

Not only do they require more care, they also require refrigeration and a sterile environment for some of their medications.

As Ian barrels toward the state, the Agency for Health Care Administration told CNN that it has conducted more than 290 on-site visits in nursing homes and assisted living facilities in the path of the storm that had been previously out of compliance with generator requirements.

“As of today, 100% of operating long-term care facilities have a generator on-site,” said Brock Juarez, AHCA deputy chief of staff, noting that they are requiring all health providers to send daily updates to make sure each facility is taking the appropriate precautions to keep aging patients safe.

The American Association of Retired Persons is spreading awareness of the risk this storm poses to the state’s older population. The AARP website also provides disaster preparedness resources for older adults and their families, including advice on setting up generators, avoiding storm surge and reviewing insurance policies.

“As Hurricane Ian barrels toward Florida, we should all be reminded: it is extremely important for Floridians to have an updated disaster plan each year at the beginning of storm season,” AARP Florida State Director Jeff Johnson said in a statement.

“As Floridians, we know it only takes one storm to drastically change lives forever. Proper preparedness and a disaster plan can minimize damage to your property and ensure your family’s safety.”

The Texas Division of Emergency Management will deploy a task force to Florida in advance of Hurricane Ian, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday.

“Texas is no stranger to hurricane disaster response efforts, and we recognize the urgency for additional resources in preparation of this Category 3 storm,” Abbott said in a statement. “We greatly appreciate the generosity of Floridians and aid the State of Florida has sent us during times of crisis in our state — and we are honored to do the same.”

The Texas A&M Task Force 1 will deploy a search-and-rescue team consisting of 45 personnel, four boats, and two canines, to support a request by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the statement said. 

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol postponed its hearing scheduled for Wednesday in light of Hurricane Ian heading toward Florida.

The panel had originally scheduled a hearing for Wednesday to reveal new information it has uncovered since its last hearing on July 21, but the committee’s chair, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, of Mississippi, and vice chair, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, of Wyoming, made the announcement Tuesday afternoon.

“In light of Hurricane Ian bearing down on parts of Florida, we have decided to postpone tomorrow’s proceedings,” Thompson and Cheney said in a joint statement. “We’re praying for the safety of all those in the storm’s path. The Select Committee’s investigation goes forward and we will soon announce a date for the postponed proceedings.”

One of the committee’s nine members, Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy represents a district that includes parts of Orlando. CNN reported earlier that Murphy may not have been able to attend the hearing.

Airlines, airports, and the federal government are bracing for aviation infrastructure to take a major blow from Hurricane Ian. Cancellations and closures are already piling up across the Florida peninsula. 

FlightAware data shows more than 1100 cancelations nationwide Wednesday with the Orlando and Southwest Florida airports rounding out the top three hotspots, though the effects could ripple through the southeastern US with Atlanta and Charlotte already seeing cancellations.

Tampa International Airport: Operations will be suspended at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday. A publicly available notice to pilots reads that the airport will only be open for emergency aircraft. The airport typically handles 450 flights daily.  

St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport closed at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday “due to mandatory evacuation orders from Pinellas County and remain closed until the evacuation order is lifted,” according to the verified tweet from the airport. 

Sarasota-Bradenton airport announced it will be closed starting at 8 p.m. Tuesday night.  

Orlando International Airport: Commercial operations will cease at 10:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, according to an update from the airport, which welcomes nearly 130,000 passengers daily, according to its website. 

 The Federal Aviation Administration is holding a Tuesday evening teleconference about the impact of Hurricane Ian on air travel, according to a notice on an agency website.

American Airlines says it has proactively canceled 175 flights as of Tuesday morning, including both mainline and regional flights.  

American customers traveling through 20 airports in the hurricane’s path can rebook flights without change fees. The airline has also added “reduced, last-minute fares for cities that will be impacted” in hopes of helping people who are trying to “evacuate via air.” 

Multiple airlines are moving aircraft out of harm’s way and note it will take time to reestablish service after the storm. First, officials and the airlines must determine when and where it is safe to resume flights, and then they must have crews on the ground available.   

“Our in-house weather forecasting is a powerful tool to aid in ops decision making but equally important are the conditions of ground infrastructure after the storm passes,” Delta spokesman Morgan Durrant told CNN.  

United Airlines and Southwest Airlines are suspending operations at the Fort Meyers and Sarasota airports. United is also canceling all Tuesday and Wednesday flights to and from Key West and is canceling some flights out of Orlando.

CNN’s Rebekah Riess contributed to this report.

A storm surge watch has been issued for the entire Georgia coast, and the state is anticipating some flooding and flash flooding, officials said Tuesday.

Heavy rainfall of four to six inches of rain with some isolated areas of eight inches is expected along the state’s coastal counties.

Georgia Emergency Management officials said they are currently at a Level Two elevated activation for the State Operations Center. 

A tropical storm warning has been issued for Camden and Glynn counties, and a tropical storm watch has been issued for the remainder of the Georgia coast.

Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to issue a statement declaring a state of emergency today, which will encompass all state resources, GEMA Director James C. Stallings said.

“Currently we’re asking our residents in vulnerable housing situations, including those in low-lying areas, or high flood risk areas, you should consider a temporary relocation to higher ground,” Stallings added.

Officials on Florida’s east coast are now beginning to prepare for Hurricane Ian’s approach.

St. Johns County administrator announced at an afternoon news conference the county will issue an evacuation order on Wednesday morning, including the entire city of St. Augustine.

Hunter Conrad, the county administrator, said they are “looking at flooding, storm surge and a rain event very similar to what we had during Irma.”

The area could get 3 to 5 feet of storm surge and 10 to 15 inches of rain, according to Conrad.

St. Jonhs County schools, as well as county offices, will be closed for the rest of the week. 

Hurricane Ian is growing stronger in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico with maximum sustained winds up to 120 mph, according to the 2 p.m. ET update from the National Hurricane Center.

The southward shift in the track has resulted in some changes to the expected storm surge, notably the slight decrease in the forecast for Tampa Bay in Florida, which is now 4-7 feet —down from 5-10 feet projected earlier.

It would still be a record storm surge if it is verified.

The maximum storm surge will occur on the right side of the advancing center of Hurricane Ian, which is forecast to occur between Sarasota and Fort Myers, including Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda, and could reach up to 12 feet.

Satellite imagery early Tuesday afternoon suggests Hurricane Ian — currently a Category 3 with winds of 120 mph — is strengthening as it moves into the ultra-warm water of the Gulf of Mexico.

Meteorologists have noted that it could be entering another period of rapid intensification.

Rapid intensification is precisely what it sounds like – a hurricane’s winds strengthening rapidly over a short amount of time. Scientists have defined it as a wind speed increase of at least 35 mph in 24 hours or less.

There are several things that meteorologists point to as evidence that Ian could rapidly intensify. The hurricane’s central pressure is falling and frequent lightning has been observed in and around the eye wall. Satellite imagery also depicts so-called “mesovortices” in the eye — smaller areas of circulation that spin within the eye like pinwheels — which can be a sign of a strong and intensifying storm.

Two ingredients must come together for rapid intensification to occur — both of which are present in the southeast Gulf of Mexico:

Rapid intensification has historically been a rare phenomenon, but is becoming more common as the climate crisis warms ocean temperatures and stacks the deck in favor of more intense hurricanes.

All National Park Service employees were evacuated from the Dry Tortugas National Park prior to the approach of Hurricane Ian, according to NPS spokesperson Allyson Gantt. 

No employees will be riding out the storm.  

Dry Tortugas National Park is in the Gulf of Mexico, west of Key West, Florida.

SeaWorld Orlando will be closed Wednesday and Thursday due to the projected path of Hurricane Ian, which is headed for Florida.

“We are taking all necessary precautions — including the implementation of our comprehensive weather preparedness plan — to keep guests, employees, and animals safe,” SeaWorld spokesperson, Carl Hensley, told CNN in a statement Tuesday.

Two other SeaWorld attractions – Aquatica Orlando, and Discovery Cove – will also be closed Wednesday and Thursday.

The storm’s path: Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer on Tuesday said that the track of Ian has changed “fairly significantly to the east” with its path leading directly over the city of Orlando in the next few days.

President Biden said he told three Florida mayors in the path of Hurricane Ian to contact him directly with whatever they need as the state prepares for the storm to make landfall. 

“Forecast can change, but for now the experts say this could be a very severe hurricane, life-threatening and a devastating impact,” Biden said from the White House Tuesday at an event on lowering healthcare costs. “The administration is on alert and in action to help the people of Florida.” 

Biden said he’d already directed his team to surge federal assistance before the storm hits and detailed the amount of federal funding and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials already deployed to the state. 

“I just spoke this morning with… [the] mayors of Tampa, St. Pete And Clearwater,” Biden said, “They’re focused on the safety of their communities and they’re doing everything they can to get people out of harm’s way.” 

Biden said he “told each one of them in my conversations separately, whatever they need – I mean it sincerely whatever they need – contact me directly. They know how do that.”

He also urged Florida residents to listen to local officials and follow evacuation orders, saying their “safety is more important than anything.” 

“I know our hearts are with everyone who will feel the effects of this storm. And we’ll be with you every step of the way,” the President said. “We’re not going away.” 

Kentucky is providing three C-130 flight crews to Florida in an effort to help the state battle Hurricane Ian which is projected to make landfall this week. 

“Today I authorized the @KentuckyGuard to provide direct assistance to Florida through three C-130 flight crews,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear tweeted. “@FLSERT was there for Eastern Kentucky following July’s flooding and we will be there for them during the hurricane.”

Kentucky was subject to historic flooding in July and August that ultimately took the lives of at least 40 Kentuckians. At the time, Florida’s Division of Emergency Management sent at least three All-Hazards Incident Management Team to help, according to a news statement.  

As Hurricane Ian is forecast to pass west of the Florida Keys tonight, Monroe County Emergency Management is urging residents and visitors to be in their safe structures by 2 p.m. today and stay off the roads. 

Emergency operations, including police and fire, will cease when winds reach 35 mph and will resume as soon as it is safe to do so, an update from Monroe County Emergency Management on Tuesday said. 

A tornado watch is in effect for the entire Keys island chain and tornadoes are possible in association with Ian’s rain bands, according to emergency management.

All commercial flights at Key West International Airport for Tuesday, September 27, have been canceled and the port of Key West is closed to maritime traffic, the update said.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer on Tuesday said that the track of Hurricane Ian has changed “fairly significantly to the east” with its path leading directly over the city of Orlando in the next few days.

Orlando’s emergency operations center is now fully activated and the city continues to monitor Ian’s track, Dyer said. All nonessential city offices, including city hall, will be closed starting at noon on Wednesday and will remain closed Thursday and Friday, the mayor said.

Four downtown Orlando parking garages will be open with all fees waved starting at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

“You can move your car there, if you are concerned about it being out in the weather,” Dyer said, noting that cars must be removed by 8 p.m. ET on Friday evening.

The city’s nonprofit partners and city staff are working to make sure that those experiencing homelessness are also safe as the storm approaches, the mayor said. Shelters will extend capacity and homeless outreach teams, and downtown ambassadors are out on the streets providing weather information and directing people to shelters.

About 3,200 Florida National Guard service members are on “state active duty” to support Hurricane Ian response efforts, while another 1,800 members are “in the pipeline” and can be activated if needed, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a briefing at the Pentagon on Tuesday.

“Florida has pre-positioned guard soldiers, airmen and equipment at bases and armories around the state in preparation for deploying them to areas impacted by the storm,” Ryder said. “These guardsmen will provide route clearing, search and rescue, teams to support flood control and security.”

“Aviation assets like helicopters are also on standby to assist as required,” Ryder added.

Five neighboring states are prepared to make “an additional 2,000 plus guardsmen available” if needed, Ryder said.

The Department of Defense has also approved four bases in neighboring states as “incident support based federal staging areas,” Ryder said. The bases are: Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, Warner Robins Air Force Base, Georgia and Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Georgia, Ryder said.

FEMA is the lead agency on hurricane response, Ryder added.

Several college football games scheduled for this week and weekend have been moved due to the forecasted impact of Hurricane Ian.

University of South Florida vs. East Carolina University: The game has been moved from Tampa to Boca Raton “due to the anticipated impacts of Hurricane Ian on the Tampa Bay Area,” the American Athletic Conference and USF Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly announced Tuesday.

It is now set to be played on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at FAU Stadium.

University of Florida vs. Eastern Washington University: The game was rescheduled from Saturday to Sunday at noon, the University Athletic Association announced Tuesday.

University of South Carolina vs. South Carolina State University: This game has been moved up to Thursday night due to the hurricane threat. “Due to the potential impact of the hurricane on Columbia and the surrounding area, it is in the best interest of safety to play the game on Thursday rather than Saturday afternoon,” South Carolina athletics director Ray Tanner said on Tuesday.

Other sports impacted: The University of South Florida also noted that a number of other sports had been impacted by Hurricane Ian. It’s volleyball team’s matches slated for Friday and Saturday will not be played in Tampa, with hopes that they can take place in Orlando.

The men’s soccer game scheduled for Friday in Charlotte has been postponed, while the cross country team has withdrawn from the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on Friday “due to the storm’s impact on travel.”

Hurricane Ian has maximum sustained winds of 110 mph and is inching toward Florida’s western coast at 10 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 1 p.m. ET position update.

The storm is located 100 miles south-southwest of Dry Tortugas and 280 miles south-southwest of Sarasota, Florida.

The White House is “closely tracking” Hurricane Ian as the storm barrels toward Florida, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

President Joe Biden is receiving regular updates and separately spoke with three mayors of the areas that are in the storm’s expected path Tuesday — Mayor Jane Castor of Tampa, Mayor Ken Welch of St. Petersburg and Mayor Frank Hibbard of Clearwater, she said.

He discussed planning and preparation for the upcoming storm, which is currently expected to make landfall on the state’s west coast on Wednesday. 

“The President underscored his commitment to the people of Florida and made clear that impacted communities will have the full support of the federal government to augment state and local emergency response efforts and emphasized the importance of encouraging families to heed evacuation orders,” Jean-Pierre said.

Notably, Jean-Pierre said she had “no calls to preview” when asked if Biden had spoken or planned to speak with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. However, Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Deanne Criswell, however, said Tuesday she spoke with the governor on Friday at Biden’s request. 

“I did speak with Governor DeSantis on Friday to hear his main concerns and his priorities for the response and the preparedness actions. And we immediately began moving resources and personnel in, and President Biden signed Governor DeSantis’ pre-landfall emergency declaration request on Saturday. This made sure that we were able to immediately start supporting the governor’s concerns that he relayed to me,” Criswell said.

Commercial operations at Orlando International Airport (MCO) will cease at 10:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday in preparation for the arrival and impact of Hurricane Ian, according to an update from the airport on Tuesday.

The decision was made after conferring with the National Weather Service, airlines, and federal partners, airport officials said. 

The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority has now activated the airport’s Emergency Operations Center, which is staffed by airport leadership, emergency response and federal partners, the update said.

MCO reminded the public that the airport is not a designated shelter and entry to all parking facilities will also be closed.

Other closures: The Port of Tampa Bay suspended operations at 8 a.m. ET Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said previously. Tampa Bay International Airport will also close at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday, he added.

Several national parks and monuments in Florida have closed, or are planning on closing, in preparation for Hurricane Ian which is barreling towards the coast.

The National Park Service is urging guests to check alerts for specific parks before you visit. Closures could change as conditions deteriorate later this week. You can find notifications on its website here.

“During severe weather such as hurricanes, the NPS strives to ensure the safety and protection of its visitors, employees, and resources,” the NPS said.

Here are some of the closures so far:

Energy companies from across the United States are sending droves of workers to assist in Hurricane Ian restoration efforts.

ComEd: At the request of Georgia Power and Tampa Electric, the Chicago-based energy company is sending more than 250 employees —100 ComEd employees and 150 contractors, plus support staff — to assist in restoration efforts following expected outages, it told CNN affiliate WBBM. Crews began leaving Tuesday morning.

Duke energy: The company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is also sending nearly 10,000 workers to help in safe Florida locations, including lineworkers, tree professionals, damage assessment and support personnel. Crews coming from Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio will be strategically placed in areas that will be most impacted and will be prepared to “respond to outages once it is safe to do so,” a spokesperson told CNN.

Emergency Disaster Services: The Lexington-based disaster recovery company is sending 1,000 workers to Georgia and Florida to assist utility companies after Hurricane Ian’s landfall before pivoting to assist FEMA with their needs. The company has proprietary “state-of-the-art mobile sleeper systems” with laundry, restrooms, dining halls, kitchens, and mobile office trailers to support “utility partners as they work to restore power,” a spokesperson told CNN. 

Hurricane Ian made landfall Tuesday morning in western Cuba, where more than 38,000 people had evacuated to get out of harm’s way, CNN previously reported. 

CNN meteorologists predict that at least 8 million people are under a hurricane warning in western and central Florida, meaning they are subject to hurricane-force winds of 74 mph or greater.

A storm surge warning along the west coast of Florida was expanded to include the area from Suwanee River to Anclote River, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center. 

A storm surge warning was also issued for the US east coast from Marineland, Florida, to the mouth of St. Mary’s River, including the St. Johns River, and the Dry Tortugas.

Here is a list of all the warnings currently in effect:

A hurricane warning:

A storm surge warning:

A tropical storm warning:

A storm surge watch:

A hurricane watch:

A tropical storm watch:

The center of Hurricane Ian is positioned in the far southeastern Gulf of Mexico as of 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday, according to the latest update by the National Hurricane Center.

The forecast says Ian is about 285 miles from Sarasota, Florida, and about 110 miles from the Dry Tortugas, a national park made up of seven small islands.

The hurricane center said it will release hourly forecasts as long as the eye of the storm “is easily trackable by land-based radar.”

While Tampa Mayor Jane Castor on Tuesday morning said the forecast for Hurricane Ian’s impact on the city “hasn’t changed a great deal,” the slow-moving storm is expected to bring a “devastating amount of water” to the Tampa Bay area.

Castor also said she received a call from President Biden, who said he also had Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell in his office.

“He just wanted to ensure that we had all the resources that we needed and clearly wishing us the best,” Castor said.

Castor said a thunderstorm on Monday evening already saturated the ground and caused street closures.

“We are doing all that we can right now … to mitigate pumping water out of our stormwater ponds, letting water over the dam, doing all that we can to make sure that that water has a clear path, somewhere to go,” the mayor said.

“It’s going to be in our rivers, it’s going to be in our streams, it’s going to be in our canals, it’s going to be in our stormwater drains and ditches,” Castor added. 

“It can get better if the storm comes ashore a little south of us, and I don’t know that it can get much worse, but I’m sure there’s a scenario that says that it could,” the mayor said. “Right now, a storm that slows down for 24 to 48 hours and just continuously dumps rain into the Tampa Bay area is devastating.”

A curfew is expected to be implemented, Castor said.

“We are prepared to secure these neighborhoods as best we can so that anyone that does not belong in these neighborhoods is not coming back in post evacuation,” Tampa Police Chief Mary O’Connor added.

Tampa Fire Rescue Chief Barbara Tripp said crews are currently helping to evacuate the nursing homes that are in the evacuation area, assisting with evacuating those patients to facilities on higher grounds. At least 41 patients from a nursing home in south Tampa are being relocated to central Tampa, Tripp said.

City officials have also been speaking to CEOs of hospitals throughout the city.

O’Connor said a storm barrier has been put up around Tampa General Hospital.

“So this is going to be the test right here, but I’ve talked to them and they aren’t evacuating anyone at this point,” O’Connor said. “But they have systems in place that individuals will be protected. And they have plenty of resources, generators working, and they’re comfortable that they can protect their patients at Tampa General.”

Floridians should be prepared to lose power once the storm hits, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in an update on Tuesday.

“People should anticipate losing power. When you have a storm of this magnitude, that’s what happens. It knocks down trees, it knocks down power lines. When you’re making preparations, just be prepared to be able to make do without having consistent power,” he said.

DeSantis also said the duration of power loss could last more than just a few days depending on how Hurricane Ian makes landfall.

Loss of power “may be a matter of days. It may be more than just a few days. It really depends on the intensity of the storm, and it depends on how much structural damage is done to the underlying infrastructure that powers our state,” he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, energy companies announced that thousands of workers from across the US will be sent to safe locations in Florida and also Georgia to help with power restoration efforts.

Cuba’s western province of Pinar del Rio has lost power, according to Cuban state television on Tuesday.

Hurricane Ian hit Cuba’s western province, an area noted for its tobacco farms. State media posted photos of downed fences and destruction at the Alejandro Robaina Tobacco Plantation, one of Cuba’s most famous tobacco farms.

With Hurricane Ian barreling toward Florida, coastal residents are scrambling to secure their homes.

On Tuesday morning in the Tampa area, long lines of cars waited for hours to get free sandbags at distribution sites.

In flood-prone regions, sandbags are used around doorways as barriers to prevent flood water from entering homes. But depending on the height of Ian’s storm surge, officials have warned sandbags might not provide enough protection.

Nearly 7 million people residing along the coast between Fort Myers and Clearwater, including all of Tampa Bay, are under a storm surge warning.

As of 11 a.m. ET, a storm surge of five to eight feet was forecast in and around Tampa Bay. Even the low range of storm surge forecast would still be the highest water levels ever recorded for the area.

The city of Tampa is limiting each vehicle to 10 filled sandbags. Tampa distribution sites will close at 2 p.m. Tuesday, the city said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis encouraged residents to prepare for historic flooding and storm surge on Tuesday, encouraging Floridians under evacuation orders to heed those warnings.

“It is now a major hurricane,” DeSantis said. “Understand the impacts are going to be far, far broader than just where the eye of the storm happens to make landfall. In some areas, there will be catastrophic flooding and life-threatening storm surge.”

DeSantis said the most recent forecast had landfall south of Tampa Bay, in the Sarasota area, threatening severe flooding and an estimated 5 to 10 feet of storm surge. 

Florida Director of Emergency Management Kevin Guthrie, said the National Hurricane Center is predicting the landfall to be Venice, Florida in 35 hours at 125 miles per hour “making that a major Category 3 landfalling hurricane.”

Guthrie continued that residents of Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee counties should continue to heed warnings and not return to their homes.

About 2.5 million Floridians are currently under some kind of evacuation order, according to Florida officials. 

“Mother nature is a very fearsome adversary. So please heed those warnings. You do not need to evacuate to another state. You don’t need to go hundreds of miles away. There are shelters that are open and all of these counties at this point,” said DeSantis

According to the governor, Florida has activated 5,000 National Guard members with an additional 2,000 members from other states. More than 28,000 people are staged for power restorations across the state of Florida. 

Twenty-six school districts announced closures as of Tuesday morning. DeSantis said he expected more closures to be announced as the track of the storm becomes clearer. 

NASA has rolled the massive Artemis I mega moon rocket back into its hangar, called the Vehicle Assembly Building, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to protect it from Hurricane Ian.

The move, which concluded at 9:15 a.m. ET Tuesday, delays the third launch attempt for the Artemis I mission, which is slated to send an uncrewed capsule around the moon, for at least a few weeks.

“Managers decided to roll back based on the latest weather predictions associated with Hurricane Ian not showing improving expected conditions for the Kennedy area. The decision allows time for employees to address the needs of their families and protect the integrated rocket and spacecraft system,” NASA noted on its Artemis blog.

The agency will host a news conference today at 2 p.m. ET to discuss the rollback decision. Janet Petro, director of the Kennedy Space Center, will provide a big picture look at all of the hurricane preparations taking place at the complex.

“After the storm has passed, teams will conduct inspections to determine impacts at the center and establish a forward plan for the next launch attempt, including replacing the core stage flight termination system batteries and retesting the system to ensure it can terminate the flight if necessary for public safety in the event of an emergency during launch,” according to an update in the Artemis blog.

The setback would likely push NASA’s next try into November, though late October potentially could still be an option for the highly anticipated launch.

Sept 27, 2022; Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA; NASA's giant moon rocket Artemis I is rolled back into the Vehicle Assembly Building early Tuesday, September, 27, 2002 to protect it from Hurricane Ian. Mandatory Credit: Craig Bailey-USA TODAY NETWORK

Related article Artemis I rocket rolled back inside as Hurricane Ian treks toward Florida | CNN

Storm surges and rain from Hurricane Ian could mean that Florida sees water in places it’s never seen before, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch told CNN.

“We’ll see water in places we’ve never seen it before. When you talk about 10 or 15 inches of rain on top of the surge — that is unprecedented. No infrastructure is build for that,” he told CNN. “So we could be looking at impacts to our sewer system, to wastewater. So that is what folks need to understand. We’ve never seen this level of surge threat before. And they need to respond to that in the way that makes sense.” 

The mayor expressed confidence that Florida can get through this as long as people act responsibly.

“We can get through this because we’ve got the science and data. We know where the storm surge will be. But that depends on folks being responsible,” he said. “At a certain point these folks are going to be on their own and we’re not going to send first responders out and put them in danger when there are tropical storm force winds.”

When Florida faces hurricane-force winds, Welch emphasized that first responders will not go out because it puts their lives in danger.

“You should have a plan already. You should have your storm kit, and you should know your evacuation zone. If you don’t, go to storm.pinellascounty.org. Find your evacuation level. You can find shelter — we’ve got 25 shelters in the country, set up working with the school board and the county. The infrastructure is there, we just need people to act responsibly and take advantage of the help,” he told CNN.

Hurricane Ian’s center has emerged into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico late Tuesday morning, according to the 11 a.m. ET advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

Ian’s winds have decreased only slightly, down to 115 mph, as a result of the trip across western Cuba, which keeps the storm as a Category 3. Ian is expected to strengthen again later today and become a Category 4 before the end of the day. 

The expected track for Ian has shifted around 25 miles south in the newest advisory, with landfall expected to occur north of Venice, Florida, around 6 to 12 hours earlier than previously anticipated. Ian is still expected to be a major hurricane when it makes landfall on Wednesday evening around 8 p.m. local time. 

“On the forecast track, the center of Ian is expected to move over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico in a couple of hours, pass west of the Florida Keys later today, and approach the west coast of Florida within the hurricane warning area on Wednesday and Wednesday night,” the center said.

This also shifts the expected highest surge, with the highest surge expected to be 8 to 12 feet, occurring south of Tampa Bay and north of Bonita Beach, including Charlotte Harbor and the cities of Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda. Storm surge in and around Tampa Bay, including St. Petersburg and Clearwater, is still expected to be 5 to 8 feet.

“Ian is forecast to approach the west coast of Florida as an extremely dangerous major hurricane,” the center said.

Ian is moving north at 10 mph, and “a turn toward the north-northeast with a reduction in forward speed is forecast tonight and Wednesday,” it said.

“Persons located within these areas should take all necessary actions to protect life and property from rising water and the potential for other dangerous conditions. Promptly follow evacuation and other instructions from local officials,” according to the advisory.

Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, floridadisaster.org, has a tracking tool to inform residents if they are in an evacuation zone.

You can use this tool to find your zone and better understand orders from local officials.

Hurricane Ian is strengthening rapidly as it passes over the ultra-warm waters of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center had predicted the system would rapidly intensify from a tropical storm to at least a Category 4 hurricane in less than 72 hours.

It is an unprecedented forecast, experts told CNN, but one scientist says it is becoming more likely as the climate crisis advances, pushing ocean temperatures higher and laying the groundwork for tropical storms to explode at breakneck pace into deadly major hurricanes. 

Rapid intensification is precisely what it sounds like — a hurricane’s winds strengthening rapidly over a short amount of time. Scientists have defined it as a wind speed increase of at least 35 mph in 24 hours or less. 

The phenomenon played out with breathtaking speed in the Philippines this weekend. Super Typhoon Noru exploded in strength on its final approach toward the Pacific island nation, going from the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane to a Category 5 overnight as residents around Manila slept.

Noru’s rapid intensification right before landfall — which was not predicted — likely meant locals had no time prepare for the much stronger storm. 

Hurricane Ian’s intensification has been in the forecast for days, giving Cuba and Florida the benefit of time. Winds in the storm increased from 45 mph Sunday evening to 80 mph late Monday morning, and more strengthening is in the forecast. Ian could intensify into at least a Category 4 before it makes landfall in Florida midweek.

Rapid intensification has historically been a rare phenomenon, according to Allison Wing, an assistant professor of atmospheric science at Florida State University.

It “is really sort of at the extreme end of how quickly storms can intensify,” Wing told CNN. “Only something like 6% or so of all forecast time periods have those types of rapid intensification rates observed associated with them. And so it’s something that’s by definition, a rare event. Sometimes it only happens a few times per season.”

Read more about this here.

Manatee County Emergency Management officials have expanded a mandatory evacuation order for the county to include both level A and level B evacuation zones. Additionally, residents living in evacuation level C are being encouraged to find shelter further inland, according to a news statement from the county.

“Those along the coast and prone to flooding need to take this seriously and evacuate,” Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes said. “This is worst-case scenario.”

Manatee County Area Transit will suspend all fixed routes as of 6 p.m. ET, and two additional shelters will open in the county at noon, the statement said.

Manatee County is expected to provide a news briefing 2 p.m. ET Tuesday. Manatee County is just south of Tampa and St. Petersburg.

Hillsborough County in Florida has upgraded a previous mandatory evacuation order to now include both Zones A and B, effective 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday, said Bonnie Wise, County Administrator for Hillsborough County, during a briefing Tuesday morning.

What’s important to note: This is an update from Monday’s order that included a mandatory evacuation order for Zone A and only a voluntary evacuation order for Zone B. Both zones now fall under mandatory evacuation orders.

This update affects about 90,000 more residents. Everyone in the mandatory zones must evacuate by 9 p.m. ET Tuesday evening. Hillsborough County’s mandatory evacuations affects about 390,000 residents, Wise said.

You can use this tool to find your evacuation zone in Hillsborough County.

Hillsborough County includes Tampa, Florida.

The exact location of Hurricane Ian’s landfall will make a dramatic difference in the location of the storm surge.

“Landfall in the southern part of the cone will take Tampa Bay out of the extreme surge and put Charlotte Harbor in the center of the worst conditions,” according to CNN meteorologist Chad Myers. “Landfall to the north of Tampa puts the massive surge right into Tampa Bay.”

Fifty miles one way or the other changes everything.

If it makes landfall north of Tampa, this will push water levels to a height not seen in over 50 years of tide level records in the Tampa Bay area.

“This is a near worst-case approach angle coming in from the south and west and stalling,” according to Jamie Rhome, the National Hurricane Center’s acting director. “With it slowing down, this would be a near worst-case approach angle.” 

That slowing forward momentum will allow for another extreme event to unfold. Obviously, there are damaging winds in the eyewall and the surge. Still, there is also the potential for flooding rainfalls, Myers said.

There is “the potential for rainfall totals of 20 to 25 inches as the storm appears to temporarily stall after landfall creating massive rainfall flash flooding,” Myers said.

The average month of September brings about 6 inches of rain to the Tampa region.

Hurricane Ian made landfall in western Cuba early Tuesday morning while on its trek toward Florida.

Here’s a satellite look at the Ian this morning as the sun rose over Florida, Cuba and the Gulf of Mexico:

The National Hurricane Center now says Ian will maintain major hurricane intensity when it hits Florida.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 35 miles and tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 115 miles from the center of Ian.

This means that more than 15 million people will likely experience tropical storm-force winds, including all of Tampa metro and other cities such as Orlando, Tallahassee and Jacksonville.

The most likely arrival of tropical storm-force winds:

Photos from the Pinar del Rio province of Cuba show damage, downed trees and flooding as Category 3 Hurricane Ian made landfall on the western side of the island country.

A tornado watch has been issued for South Florida on Tuesday morning, associated with the outer bands of Hurricane Ian moving into the southern parts of Florida.

The watch runs until 5 p.m. ET this evening.

The watch, issued from the Storm Prediction Center, covers more than 6 million people including the cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

“A very moist airmass and strengthening low-level shear will support an increasing tornado potential from the Florida Keys across the southern Peninsula through the afternoon,” the center said.

Some context: Tornadoes are frequently associated with hurricanes and tropical storms, and can occur hundreds of miles away from the center of the hurricane. Tornadoes in tropical systems tend to be short-lived and difficult to predict with much lead time, compared to more traditional tornadoes produced by supercells and strong thunderstorms in the Central Plains and South.

As Tampa International Airport prepares to suspend operations today at 5 p.m. ET due to approaching Hurricane Ian, airport CEO Joe Lopano said the economic impact of shutting down is “in the millions.”

“Unfortunately, Ian has not given us a choice,” Lopano said. “We’ll just make it as painless as we can, open as quickly as we can, depending … on the severity of the storm, and we’ll resume from there.”

The airport has a team of storm riders made up of about 120 employees who have trained for hurricane events and will ride out the storm, Lopano said.

“We have planned and we’ve put all of the measures in place that we believe we need to put in place to be as prepared as we can,” he added.

The top concern is storm surge and flooding, according to John Tiliacos, executive vice president of airport operations.

Tiliacos also reminded the public that the airport is not a shelter and doesn’t have the resources to serve as one for vehicles or people during a hurricane.

After the storm passes, the airport’s focus will shift toward reopening the airport.

“We recognize the importance of this asset in order to have the community recover as quickly as possible,” Lopano said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a cautious reminder to Floridians, saying residents should not think Hurricane Ian could be like Hurricane Charley, which slammed the coast in 2004 — Charley was a lot smaller, he said.

“This is a much different storm. Charley was a lot smaller, it was powerful, it was a Category 4. Most of the damage from Charley was from wind and wind destruction. What we have here is really historic storm surge and flooding potential. And so if you’re looking at those places in Fort Myers, Charlotte County, Sarasota — the storm surge that you’re going to see generated from this is going to far eclipse what we saw [during Charley,]” DeSantis explained at a Tuesday press briefing.

DeSantis acknowledge that there is a possibility that Ian’s track may end up being similar to Charley’s.

“I know there’s folks in southwest Florida who remember Hurricane Charley was projected to make a direct impact into Tampa Bay, and then it turned and went into southwest Florida. I would just say the track may end up doing something similar, but this is a much different storm.”

Given the circumstances, he urged that residents in Ian’s projected path at the moment should heed the evacuation orders in their area.

“What those evacuation orders are doing is identifying people that live in areas that are vulnerable to major storm surge. And that storm surge can be life-threatening. There’s certain things we can protect against in terms of the wind and the structures, and we’ve got great building codes. But when you have five to 10 feet of storm surge, that’s not something that you want to be a part of,” he said.

Hernando County, which is located north of Tampa, is expecting the arrival of tropical-force winds from Hurricane Ian starting at noon on Wednesday, according to officials. Sustained winds, increasing up to hurricane-level winds, are anticipated for the next two days.

According to Hernando County administrator Jeff Rogers, the county will see a storm surge between 8-10 feet, depending on where Ian makes landfall, particularly impacting roadways and ground-level houses in coastal communities.

Rogers warned that the county will have a significant amount of rainfall — of up to over 14 inches — which will be “more than any significant storm event” recently experienced. Anywhere that has seen flooding previously will likely have flooding again, he said. 

“Those flooding concerns will occur again in the next 48 hours, and they’ll most likely be worse than they were before,” Rogers said. “Throughout the community, anybody that lives in manufactured homes or in RV communities, we strongly urge you to consider whether or not your manufactured homes can withstand the increased amount of winds for a long duration.”

Rogers said Hernando County is also expecting significant loss of power starting late Wednesday night into Thursday, as the amount of rainfall will cause downed trees. He asked residents to be prepared for a loss of power for three to five days starting on Thursday and Friday.

Hurricane Ian made landfall in western Cuba early this morning as a major hurricane — a Category 3 storm with 125 mph winds.

The last major hurricane [Category 3 or greater] to strike Cuba was Hurricane Irma in 2017. But specifically in western Cuba, Hurricane Gustav in 2008 was the last major hurricane to make landfall. 

More than 1 million people reside in the three Cuban provinces that have experienced hurricane-force winds — Isla de Juventud, Pinar del Rio, and Artemisa.

An additional 3 million people are experiencing tropical-storm-force winds in the three provinces under a tropical storm warning — La Habana, Mayabeque, and Matanzas.

As Florida prepares for Hurricane Ian’s menacing approach here is what you should know about the forecast and potential impact on the state.

On rainfall: Ian is expected to dump at least 2 to 3 months’ worth of rainfall by Friday. Totals are expected to be 12 to 16 inches with maximums up to 24” in Tampa and West Central Florida. The average month of September brings about 6 inches of rain.

On people: More than 8 million people reside in the Hurricane Warning zone in West and Central Florida, meaning they are subject to hurricane-force winds of 74 mph or greater

Nearly 7 million people reside along the coast between Fort Myers and Clearwater, including all of Tampa Bay area are also under a storm surge warning, indicating a life-threatening storm surge of 5 to 10 feet is possible

On storm surge: Even the low range of storm surge currently forecast for Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater would represent the highest water levels ever recorded. It could double their highest. 5 to 10 feet is the expected surge in Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg and Clearwater. The highest sea levels ever recorded reached around 4 feet high in Hurricane Elena in 1985 and the March 1993 “Storm of the Century.” 

On rapid intensification: Hurricane Ian’s rapid intensification has continued on Tuesday. Ian was a 45 mph tropical storm on Sunday afternoon, but is currently a 125 mph Category 3 major hurricane. Rapid intensification is considered an increase of at least 35 mph in 24 hours, Ian has far exceeded that, increasing by at least 55 mph in a 24 hour period between Sunday afternoon and Monday afternoon.

Some history: The last major hurricane to make landfall in the US was Hurricane Ida (Category 4) in 2021 in Louisiana. The last major hurricane to make landfall in Florida was Hurricane Michael in 2018 (Category 5).

If you are in the path of Hurricane Ian, there are many steps you can take to protect yourself, your loved ones and your property.

Here’s a checklist to help you get started, with tips from the American Red Cross, Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Hurricane Center.

What to do as the storm approaches:

What to have on hand as a storm approaches:

Read the checklist in full by downloading this PDF, which contains links with more details.

Lee County officials in southwest Florida are implementing a mandatory evacuation order for residents living in zone A and parts of zone B of the county, officials said Tuesday. 

The county is currently under a hurricane watch, tropical storm warning and a storm surge warning, according to a Facebook post from Monday night.  

“The evacuation this morning is a mandatory evacuation order, and that is as mandatory as can be,” Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais said in a news conference Tuesday. “We will not be going house to house enforcing people to leave, but we are stressing the importance of people getting out of harm’s way.” 

Zone A is generally surrounded by low-lying areas that tend to flood, Desjarlais said. Residents living in mobile and manufactured homes are also encouraged to leave, he added.  

Government offices are closed Tuesday and won’t reopen until Thursday, according to the county’s website. All toll sites on Lee County are suspended “until further notice,” the county added.  

The county’s school district and its offices, which serves nearly 100,000 students, are also closed Tuesday and Wednesday. School officials said they’d reevaluate when to reopen by 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday. 

There are 10 pet-friendly emergency shelters opening throughout the county at 9 a.m. ET, Desjarlais said. Residents looking for shelter information, zone information, as well as Ian’s whereabouts, can check the county’s website and Facebook.  

County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, also present at the news conference, stressed the uncertainty of the storm at this time.  

“I just want to get a point across that we are going to feel this storm – how badly is still undetermined,” Marceno said. “Understand and we stress the fact that once the winds hit a sustained 45 miles per hour, law enforcement, emergency personnel, are not going to respond. So, God forbid someone does need 911 and they dial, a law enforcement officer is not going to respond until it’s safe to.”

Lee County is roughly 132 miles west of West Palm Beach, Florida.   

About 38,000 people had been evacuated from homes in the Pinar del Rio province in Cuba as of Monday night, according to state news channel TelePinar.

Most people had gone to stay with friends and family, and 55 shelters have been set up in the province, it said.  

In preparation for the potential impact of Hurricane Ian, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are relocating their football operations to Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Starting Wednesday, the Bucs are expected to practice at the Miami Dolphins’ Baptist Health Training Complex in Miami Gardens ahead of their game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

There have currently not been any changes to the game, which is scheduled to take place at 8:20 p.m. ET on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

The Dolphins have a game at Cincinnati on Thursday, meaning their training facilities are available to use from Wednesday.

Remember: Early Tuesday morning, Ian made landfall in western Cuba as a Category 3 storm. It quickly strengthened on Monday and will likely continue gaining in intensity as it moves over Cuba on Tuesday morning, forecasters say. While the hurricane’s exact path remains uncertain, projections show that Florida’s Tampa area could get its first direct hit from a hurricane since 1921.

Hurricane Ian is slamming Cuba and is expected to strengthen and bring dangerous storm surge, heavy rain and high winds to much of western Florida. CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has the forecast.

Watch here:

Video Ad Feedback

f78a36c0-06b1-496a-9004-5e401d5e3868.mp4

02:11 - Source: cnn

Hurricane Ian’s menacing approach to Florida has triggered preparations across the state as officials announced school closures and flight cancellations, and the military began moving ships and aircraft. Here are some closures and changes in services that you should know about:

With tropical storm conditions possibly beginning Tuesday night, officials are concerned about Hurricane Ian’s storm surge – a rise in water level caused by a strong storm’s wind pushing water onshore.

A storm surge warning is effect for the Anclote River southward to Flamingo and Tampa Bay, where the inundation of water could reach 10 feet, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The Tampa Bay region is particularly vulnerable to storm surge and could see catastrophic damage from flooding – even if the area doesn’t get a direct hit from the hurricane.

uricane Ian is expected to pass west of the Florida Keys late Tuesday and approach the west coast of Florida late Wednesday into Thursday.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned of power outages as well as possible evacuations and fuel shortages, telling people to “make preparations now.”

Here’s what you should know now:

A hurricane warning is in place from Bonita Beach to the Anclote River, including Tampa Bay, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center. This means that “hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, in this case, within 24 to 36 hours,” the center said.

A tropical storm warning was issued for the Middle Florida Keys and portions of the state’s east and west coasts.

A tropical storm watch was issued for the southeast coast from Deerfield Beach north to Jupiter Inlet, the hurricane center said.

Mandatory evacuations orders have been issued for parts of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, and emergency shelters were opened.

“When we issued that mandatory evacuation, what that means is if you don’t and you call for help, we’re not coming because we’re not going to put our people in harm’s way and put them in peril because you didn’t listen to what we told you to do,” said Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.

All along Florida’s west coast, officials are urging residents to get out of harm’s way instead of staying to protect their property. Here are some other evacuation orders:

Rapidly intensifying Hurricane Ian made landfall in western Cuba early Tuesday morning while on its trek toward Florida, where residents in some coastal areas are evacuating.

The hurricane, packing maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, made landfall just southwest of the town of La Coloma in the Pinar del Rio Province of Cuba at 4:30 a.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center said.

The region is enduring significant wind and storm surge, which could raise water levels by as much as 14 feet above normal tide levels along the coast of Cuba, the hurricane center said.

The storm is expected to move north-northwest and across the island, leaving devastating wind damage in its path, according to the center.

It is expected to emerge over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico and continue churning toward Florida, passing west of the Florida Keys late Tuesday and approaching the west coast of Florida late Wednesday into Thursday.

The hurricane is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge along much of Florida’s west coast by mid-week, as well as hurricane-force winds.

While its exact path remains uncertain, projections show the Tampa area could get its first direct hit from a hurricane since 1921, and impacts on the area could be devastating.