and resources but we're fully positioned. communication not only with president trump and governor scott and our state and local partners has been strong and the bottom line is, is that i feel that we are in a good spot to help governor scott achieve his response and recovery goals. we have nearly 8,000 federal employees prepositioned to go to the storm in addition to the kmoddyes we just spoke about. >> ip wish you the best in days ahead. thanks so much. >> thank you, anderson. >> our coverage is going to continue all through the night, all through the weekend. we will be covering this from a lot of different location, right now, our coverage continues with don lemon and cnn tonight. >> ander soen, stay there. i have a couple questions for you. you're in miami now. and i saw some of the wind coming through. you're getting the very outer parts of the bands. the winds just starting -- the conditions are going to get so much worse as you said as we get closer and closer to saturday

and sunday. >> yeah, that's right. right now, we're in miami beach, very close to the ocean. you know, 24 hours from now n all likely hd, we will not be able to be in this location. we're going to have to be more in miami downtown in a slightly elevated position. you try to plan out where the water may come where the flooding may come and we want to be able to broadcast all during the storm. we are looking at elevated positions that we can kind of get to tomorrow and broadcast throughout -- as long as we're able to stay on the air. >> as you're out and about, you know, miami is a big city and folks are out and about all the time. people vacation there. what is it like? what are they saying? >> you know, it's -- it's been incredibly quiet today. when i got in this morning, i went to the publix soouupermark by the hotel. they were open and they were going to stay open until 9:00

p.m. tonight. i expected the shelves to be empty. there was tons of food there. tons of supplies. i filled up a shopping cart. it was very orderly. there was a chevy security present as well. the people were calm. a lot of people have heeded the evacuation orders. and those who are staying, seem to be heeding -- they understand the seriously. sometimes in hurricanes, you know, the night before, you see people staggering around. they've had a couple. we have seen a little of that in miami beach. people are taking it seriously. >> as well they should. this is a monster storm. anderson, please be safe. we will see you on the air soon. live in miami. we want to get to miguel marquez live for us right now in ft. lauderdale. thank you for joining us. it's friday night. people are typically out and

about. set the scene for us. >> it looks like ghost town. it is shutters on a lot of shops and stores. the roads are mostly empty. there are some people out. but look, there are millions of people across this state on the move getting out or in shelters tonight. we saw some people in far west palm beach county soed just south of lake okeechobee, they are the most vulnerable not only from the storm that might hit but the rains that will fall in the lake there and north of it. the water shed, it could stress the levieelevees around the lea miles of levees, at risk. and clearly people are heeding that order. we drove from that area to this area. gas stations are open. no lines. the rest rants and the stores

that are open, there's almost nobody in them. clearly people have gotten out of town are they are hunkering down in their homes or hotels they know are built to withstand storms. don? >> all right, miguel, anderson in miami, miguel is in ft. lauder. and marquart, people are heeding it warning. >> there are a couple guys back there. i have to say there were a surprising number of people out and about today, near a beach in a nearby bar that was jam packed all day with a people getting a few more drinks in before they went home. the e vags wags orderer is for a very thin strip along the coastline here in ft. lauderd e lauderdale. east from the federal highway. the people we spoke with said

they are not in the mands toir evacuation zoem. they feel comfortable at home. they believe the homes they believe in with withstand the winds. they are hurricane shutter, they boarded up the homes and have the supplies. that question will really be answered tomorrow, whether people -- whether this is a ghost town. is still activity here. there is also a curfew to go in effect tomorrow. >> alexander marquard in ft. lauderdale. i want to get to allison with the latest on this. this hurricane is going to intensi intensify. what is the latest path for irma? >> the latest path takes it pretty much right over cuba. the next advisory to come out less than an hour from now, they may actually call it land fall over cuba. this takes it further west on where the track of the storm goes from here.

right now, again, it's just to the north of cuba. it's expected to continue to the west and then make a sharp turn towards the north. right now, winds 155 miles per hour that is only 2 miles per hour below category strength and we expect ikt in the coming hours. we expect it to be a category five storm over the florida keys. then over the main peninsula of florida, a category 4. we have hurricane watches and hurricane warnings for much of the region here. sarasota to ft. pierce and down is where we have warnings. those are likely to expand north. and this time, it's expected to be very early sunday morning. storm surge is expect to the be one of the big factors with the storm. west palm beach down to key west. storm surge is expected to be

five to ten feet. on the southwest side, naples down to key west, 8 to 12 feet. and a little north of that around the ft. myers area, 5 to 8 feet. but places north as tampa would be experiencing 3 to 5 feet of storm surge. and rainfall. while it will be nowhere near what we had in harvey, it's still going to be plenty high enough to trigger flash flooding. widespread. 4 to 6 inches of rain. there will be several pockets that pick up in excess of 10 inches of rain with this storm. and winds, let's face it. as a category 5 storm, even a high end category 4, you're talking incredibly high sustained winds and wind gusts. because the storm is so huge, you have hurricane force winds that will extends on both size of the coast. don, it doesn't matter if you're on want east coast side or the west coast side, you're likely going to get hurricane force winds for several hours as it tracks north. >> all right, we will don't

follow the cnn weather center. joining me on the phone is beth in a crowded shelter tonight with her young family. beth, thank you so much. we appreciate you joining us. you're there with your 3-month-old baby ivy and your husband, ollie. >> yeah, we have been here since last night. >> and the baby is 3-month birthday at the shelter. how are you doing? >> it's been a long less than 24 hours. we're holding up though. >> tell me your story. where do you live and what happened? >> we live in miami beach. and there was a mandatory evacuation. so we headed up to broward county to stay with his mother. but once the storm intensified and it started looking too scary, we decided to head for shelter. so we came here last night around midnight, maybe 12:30 and

we've been here ever since. >> so you decided to go there instead of with his mother. you made that decision late last night? >> we all came. his mother, his two cousins and we're waiting for the aunt and uncle. they're going to let them in. they stopped -- the shelters full now. so it stopped admitting people. but hopefully since we have family here already, they will let more in. >> let me ask you this. i want to ask you about the shelter. what facility is in? >> it's a middle school. >> how many people are there? >> they said they. >> reporter: going to cap it around 900. i believe around that many. it's really crowded. we started in the gymnasium. and then they started -- once the gymnasium -- once it was packed, they then started opening the calf fefetericafete.

they took out the tables and now there's mattresses and sleeping beds. after the cafeteria, the hall. every square inch of this place is covered with plan ketblanket pillow, bottles of water. it's packed. >> you did bring supplies or they are giving you supplies or a combination? >> they have given three meals a day. we don't know what we were in for. we were already prepared. we brought our own. most people that came. they are providing breakfast, lunch and dinner. and some water. a little bit of coffee, tea. >> and people there from all walk, all ages, from babies to the elderly, correct? >> there is.

yeah, all sorts. all ages. >> this is -- i imagine this is really challenging to go through for anyone. but when you're with an infant, what is that like? geez. >> well, it was scary to be in a situation at all. you know, facing a major storm and deciding what was right for your family, to stay, so get on the highway, is there enough gas? is an accident but there was a family, families, come to the shelter. it was an intense three or four days and when it came down to the wire, we just decided we have to be some where safe and shelter is a good place. >> that is smart of you. that there are people not heeding the warnings and considering the size of the hurricanes, it's amazing they are doing so. listen, you have gone through -- you said you live in miami

beach, correct? >> right. >> you have gone through hurricanes before, or a hurricane before. you belt with matthew -- >> no. >> you belt with matthew? >> yeah, i belt with matthew but in vereo beach. i'm not a floridian. and matthew was a real scare. but where i was, had -- i -- we lost power for two days, where i was. my home, i had no storm damage. it was -- it was -- i mean, we were prepared but it was nothing precompared to this. >> do you think people are taking irma more seriously than they did because it's coming on the heels of harvey and jose right behind it? >> yeah, absolutely.

i mean, we saw what harvey did in texas. i have family in texas. and it's always the -- i'm sure, you know, i would hope that everyone feels that way. >> and listen, here's an interesting thing. no one knows -- because, you know, it's a science but it's not an exact science, if it's going to hit -- we believe around surnday morkning but it' going to be at its worst. so you have no idea when you're going to get home and what you're going to find when you get there. >> exactly. that is part of the decision. that it's hard to leave. and it's also hard to stay. you just don't know what you're facing. if you leave, and you have to be gone for two or three weeks, are you going to come home to a condemned building? what is your property value like? are you going to be able to get back in once you leave? you know, we -- ari is an

attorney and he has clients he has to deal with. it's hard to make a that call. stay, go, what do you do? we decided to stay, even though, we could be without power a week, three weeks, but we go back and forth. we're like, man, we should have -- this is too big. this is too scary and other times, you know, we think we're glad we stayed. we need to get back to the beach and see what our home is going to look like. >> well, beth, we wish you and your husband ali the best and of course ivy, happy 3-month-old birthday. we hope you guys are safe. thank you so much. we'll check back with you. >> thank you. >> we come right back. there is much more on the monstrous storm that is headed straight for florida. we are getting all the new forecasts and information coming in to the cnn weather center.

millions of people evacuating. and florida's governor saying this is the real deal. you need to get out and get to safety or get to shelter. and next we're going to speak to a hurricane hunt earn who flew right through the storm today and ask him what he saw. where do you want to go next? ♪ ♪ only the platinum card gives you more reasons to go anywhere and everywhere. ♪ ♪ earn rewards like never before with 5 times points on flights, from american express. ♪ ♪ because there's always more world, there's platinum. backed by the service and security of american express. because there's always more world, there's platinum. with deeply restorative care. garnier whole blends. legendary olive leave-in conditioner. enhanced with olive oil & olive leaf extracts. to detangle, work a dollop through damp or dry hair. and infuse it with softness. garnier whole blends

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>> here's our breaking news. florida bracing for a direct hit from hurricane irma as the

storm's fierce winds grip on to the northern coast of cuba tonight. we have a reporter there for us now. describe what is happening where you are now, patrick. >> reporter: you know, don, just a few minutes ago, a dead calm that you get as you know from covering storms, between the squalls and now we're feeling the wind pick up again. where we are, the power was knocked out three or four hours ago. i don't think we'll get it back for days. we have a small generator. so we are going to continue working from here. we are on the northern central coast of cuba. an area that has been evacuated. usually a lot of hotels in this area. the keys off the coast, a very popular tourist destination. they have been emptied out and all day long, we have been watching the weather get worse and worse and worse. and to this afternoon, a couple strong bands came through out of nowhere and nearly knocked us

off his feet. the wind and the rain, that is going to keep on. i was talking to someone who lives down the coast where the storm is a bit more intense as it comes our direction. and they told me they are getting absolutely hammered right now. in the next few hour, we're going to begin to see those kinds of weather conditions that are continuing tomorrow morning, probably most of the day saturday until the storm begins to leave cuban territory -- >> you mentioned the conditions early. i just want to show some of the video of you when an outer band came through. patrick, you can hear the rain and you can see the wind ripping there. what was that like? >> reporter: you know, it came out of nowhere.

that was the most surprising thing. i covered a number of hurricanes and usually they progress up to a point and the weather turns and eventually you get those conditions. this literally came from -- we didn't even see it coming. i had my jacket on earlier in the day. it was hot. it was not raining. we didn't have a drop of rainfall and all of the sudden w we gos blind sided by this -- however many seconds squall that was and it felt like you were getting hit by needles. like a power washer was on you. you can see from the video, it's not palaleasant and if you are and about, we are in a structure that will keep us save in the storm. we tried to figure out where we will be safe in the storm. tried to do our research. but when the weather conditions change so suddenly, there is not a lot you can do. luckily my colleagues here got

me a jacket. i was almost unable to do it myself. and it just goes to show the power of this storm. those are not even the most powerful bands or winds that are going to quom. is certainly whether you're in cuba where i am or florida where it's going, you have to be prepared for these weather conditions and worse. >> yeah, i was going say, that is a little bit. that is nothing compared to what's going to happen. be safe. we appreciate it. >> absolutely. >> forecasters predicting hurricane irma will be a monster category 5 when it slams in florida. joining me a man who is flying directly into the storm, jash parrish on the nooh hurricane aircraft. you just flew through the wall. what you did see? >> we saw a very, very strong eyewall in the north-northwest side of the storm. this is the roughest pass so far, 8,000 feet.

so the winds probably around 158 knots, close to 190 miles per hour and the surface winds about 140 knots, so roughly 165 miles an hour or so. >> as you look at this compared to other storms, the size and intensity, talk to me about that, jack. >> well, from the time that the last airplane was in here and we came in, we got a 5 millibar drop in pressure. we have a beautifully formed eye on the radar. it's dark out here now. it's a 30-mile round eye and hurricane force winds 50 miamis out from the center every direction. >> are you noticing major changes in your flight from last night? >> we actually did not fly last night. early morning flight, we were saying a little bit of increase in intensity. probably the only thing keeping

this storm a little, it's rubbing right along the coast of cuba, that is a little bit of a disruptive factor but it's still quite the storm. >> if it wasn't rubbing on the coast, out to sea would be stronger, right? more intense? >> there's every reason it would be? it's getting a good source of warm water right now, very low sheer. beautiful ray v radar structure if you like that thing but it's not beautiful as far as what is ahead for florida. >> what type of data are you collecting right now and how is it going to be used in. >> the primary thing we've been collecting tonight other than surface winds and flight level winds, we have using the tail doppler radar, doppler radar takes kat scans in the storm. it's looking through the ocean surface, and c.a.t. scan goes in the skuter modeling and it will

keep giving an accurate forecast. it may not be good news but it will be accurate. >> on a personal note, what sit like when you're flying through a storm that you know will be hitting your home state? >> well, don that is one of our biggest worries right now. that of course all of our families up up there in the lakeland and tampa area. we are thinking about them. while we're flying of mission, we have to put full focus on the mission itself and we're always looking for good news. but good news for us is bad news for someone else. we want to make it as accurate as we can. >> jack parrish, hurricane hunting with nooa flight drerkt, thank you so much for your time. we appreciate the work you do and stay safe. >> well, don, you're very welcome and we're headed back to lakeland now. we will put two or three more flights into it and one more

mission. by that time, it can sh be cast where the storm is going strong. >> jash parrish. now i want to turn to brigadier general ralph on the phone. how is the national guard preparing tonight in florida? >> well, the national guard as of right now has approximately 7,000 soldiers and airmen activated throughout the state. we have been fortunate that governor v nor scott has been proactive activating us very early and with his support, we have been able to posture our soldiers and airmen in the positions that we will be able to support the citizens. >> what resources do you have ready to go? >> well, basically, anything that you might thing with respect to military. so we've got over 1,000 high wheeled vehicles to move in areas that might have high water involved. we've got rotary winged aircraft

that can reach any area that might be blocked for whatever reason. we've got boats that can get out to our barrier islands if needed and a generator that can help power any structure that -- a civilian populous might need assistance with. >> what conditions do you expect? >> as the governor mentioned we are pektsing catastrophic conditions in parts of the state. florida has had its share of hurricanes dating back to 25 years ago. we just went through the anniversary of hurricane andrew and we had devastation. we're familiar with the damage that a hurricane of this magnitude can live behind this date and we're going to be there support our citizens. >> when are you going to deploy? >> well, we currently -- we currently are. we've got soldiers and airmen positioned throughout the state.

so if you're asking in terms when to move in following the storm? >> of course we want to be -- we'll move in when the storm reaches approximately tropical storm winds. if it's safe for the soldiers to move, the commanders on the ground will make that determinati determination. as soon as that is safe, they will move forward to the missions that we receive. >> you guys are trained to do this. you have done in in storms before. what do you usually see after a storm? one that's at least -- you probably -- i'm not sure if you have been deployed to one of of this magnitude but what are the needs? >> immediately it's the search and rescue. we will move no an area and look to see what we might do to help any citizen, anyone that needs something. following that, it will move into a security type of mission. to help the law enforcement as

they might need in terms of making -- reassuring the populous that everything's going to work out and be fine. and transitions into pod type locations where we provide food, water, ice for the citizens as they need it. it's almost -- it falls on a type of fazing structure but it happens the same time. >> it's going to be a busy time for you coming up. brigadier general ralph rivas, thank you. >> thank you, sir. when we come back no where in the keys will be safe. nowhere in the keys will be safe. we're going to speak to the mayor from the area, a mayor from the area and a resident of the keys who says he is not evacuating. that's next.

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back now with breaking news. forecasters predict hurricane irma will strengthen back in a category 15 storm adds it slams in the florida keys. the national weather service warning in a tweet that nowhere

in the keys will be safe. you still have time to evacuate. that's what they said in a tweet. joining us, the mayor of monroe county, home to the keys. thank you so much, mayor, nor joining us. key west is in danger of being cut off. there is concern about the bridges to the mainland washing out. how do you survive this? >> let me be very clear based upon what i heard, was that the mayor's not evacuating. the mayor's not evacuating strictly because he wants to be here with the residents that are still here, the people that we need to take care of, and i am only doing that because i can't evacuate the troops. >> no, we were talking about the residents on the keys who are not leaving. he is coming up, not you.

>> well, he is foolish for not leaving. everybody ought to be leaving because of the magnitude of the storm. and i can't believe anybody wouldn't want to get out of here if they had a chance to get out of here. we're emperilled with a very dangerous situation. and i tell you this, we are disbanding because it is such a threat that we are disbanding our eoc. we are temporarily taking a break gepting out of here. myself, the sheriff, the emergency management director and others are not evacuating because we have to be here when this situation takes place. and i just wanted to make that clear based upon what i heard. anybody that is saying that they're not leaving is a fool. this storm is going to be

very -- it's going to change the culture and the geography and everything else in the keys and it's going to be a long, protracted recovery. there he's going to be people t stay here that are going to die. and anybody that has these last hours to evacuate, which between now and the next couple hours or at least by tomorrow morning, needs to get out of here. because this storm is going to kill people if you're still here. >> yeah. and we've seen it before when people get washed out from the storm surge. usually it's a drowning that kills the most people in storms and hurricanes. are no rental cars left. no commercial flights leaving the area. uber stopped taking customers.

up said in the next couple hours -- but it's getting really close. is it too late to get out of there? >> it's almost too late. if you're not out of here by 6:00, 7:00 tomorrow morning, 8:00 at the latest, you're putting your life in harm's way. and it's just mind boggling that someone would do that. if i could leave -- i just buttoned up my house as best i could. and i'm hoping that things will work out. it's my home. i've been here for 33 years and i'm a floridian that hates to leave. and -- but i will be back here as soon as the storm has passed, along with my emergency management director and others. >> so, mayor, you are leaving -- >> i'm not leaving the keys. i'm only leaving my hometown of

marathon because it is the ground center or where this storm is supposed to sit. we're just moving up a little further into the keys to higher ground. we're not leaving monroe county. >> you want to be there with the officials. you want to be there, correct? >> absolutely. we have seen people out in bars. we have seen -- a gentleman on a boat saying, i'm going to be fine, i think he is going to try to ride it on a boat. any point between now and 6:00, are you going to try to round people up and say get out of here? this is crazy. >> i'm hoping people are watching tv. and i know they are. and that message has to be out here. and i praise you guys for being on the air 24/7 and getting this message out. i have been watching tv as i have been buttoning up my house and this is something that you

guys have down a great job of trying to get this message out. and even throwough i can't get and knock on doors and tell people they have to get out of here, i had an ambulance come through here with a loud speaker telling people to get out, both in english and spanish, that you shouldn't be here and telling them that it's a life threatening situation and i hope it resonates with these people and they have a little bit of sanity to do whatever they can to get out of here. >> you've got -- 500? >> we have about 500. i spoke to the sheriff late this afternoon. they're going to get those guys out of here so we can get our staff. i think palm beach area, i'm not exactly sure which particular area that were going to take the prison ners but we're going to ship them out. just to allow the staff to get out of the keys.

>> mayor george neugent, sound advise. good luck to you. i would like to see you get out of there as well. if you look at the storm, it is a monster. >> it is. it is. it's a killer. >> be safe. >> thank you, sir. >> if you are anyone in the -- watching, the sound of my voice. it's not cute, you are in a bar, drinking, you're going to be fine, whatever, you're not. you need to leave. your life depends on it. people will be fishing you out of the ocean. when we come back, much more on florida bracing for a district hit of hurricane irma. a littleg that had built his house out of straw. one day a big bad wolf huffed and he puffed and blew the house down. luckily the geico insurance agency had helped the pig with homeowners insurance. he had replacement cost coverage, so his house was rebuilt, good as new. the big bad wolf now has a job on a wind farm.

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one of the biggest evacuations in u.s. history under way right now in florida. the biggest in u.s. history. i want to bring in now randy tow, he is a resident of the florida keys and a business owner. he and his family say they are going to stay put at least for now. he joins us by phone. did you happen to hear my interview with the mayor earl r earlier? >> i did.

it was interesting. and if you're in a mobile home or you're in an ocean front house or a condo, i can understa understand. and they're on high ground. they are closing to the bay. and, you know, it's one of those things. it's still unpredictable. and it can go west of us. and key west is about 80 miles from isla mirado and that can make a big deal. >> randy, i understand what you're saying and you have your family there with you, right? >> yeah. >> i don't mean to come down on you. but wouldn't it be better if you just left, just in case you left -- i mean, what harm would it be for you and your family just to get to safety? just in case.

you don't know with these situations. >> well, very true. i have three daughters. they all spent two days on the phone looking for accommodations for everybody so we could be together with five dogs, and we weren't coming up with mumch. as we watched the storm, it would move east, west, here and there and the last thing i really want to do as experiencing hurricane andrew is leave some where and end up in ground zero some where else. so it's very difficult to run from a hurricane. and they have a pretty good idea where it's going now. but 40 or 50 lefts to right can make a difference. >> i know, but you're in ground zero right now. where you are is ground zero. >> well, we are certainly in -- in the upper part of the keys. not the key west area which -- and lower keys they are predicting this is going to go. but it's one of those things

where you just have to -- you have to hunker down. you have to get everything together. you know, everybody -- we've all agreed this is going to be the best thing that we can do. be together. and, you know, we're ready to take it on with everything we have. and, you know, i have seen it before. my friends have seen it before. there's quite a few -- the last time i checked, there's about 400 of us in the upper keeps that are staying. >> okay. i don't mean to beat you up. i'm worried about you having listened to the forecast and the forecasters and looking at -- do you have television right now, randy? >> of course, i have been watching it all day. in a perfect world, we could would have evacuated and be in vegas right now having a good time. but the reality things sometimes doesn't always work out the way you want it to. and sometimes you just have to keep it simple and -- and hope

for the best. i mean, really, there's not a lot you can do with the storm. and if you look where it's going, in south florida, although it looks better on the east coast right now, than the west coast, that was the opposite of a day ago, you just never know. >> that is your final decision. you're not going to wake up tomorrow morning and say, all right, we're going to go. >> all right, we're staying. we're hunkering down. we're in a very secure house on high ground and we're ready to face what's coming. >> all right, randy. you guy being safe. thank you so much. we'll be thinking about you and check back with you, all right? >> you're welcome. thank you. >> i want to check in again tonight with storm chasers reed timer and mike tykes who are still in key largo, florida, and mike joins us on the phone. you see reed via skype. this storm is battering parts of cuba. what are you seeing at this hour? >> right now, the southern

eyewall, the southern parts of the eye appear to be over the keeps of cuba. they have a string of islands that are similar to the keys here as well. the intensity doesn't appear to be increasing. we looked at the hurricane hunter air krafrt and it appears it does not appear to be weakening at all. we see it strengthening back up to a category 5 which is devastating news here for the florida keys. it doesn't gnatter where it tracks. the keys are going to be urnds wat water and a lot of water. 10 to 15 feet. you need to evacuate in all the mandatory areas, in south florida this is the real deal. >> mike what is your biggest concern right now? >> well, my biggest concern is that i do think it's going to be a cat 5 at land fall. it's going to be the peak as it can be. it's entering waters that are 88 degrees. the waters are steaming around key west and the area it's

coming from. and probably deal with a cat 5. extreme storm surge. extreme wind. it's going to be very scary on key west, or marathon. wherever we decide to ride it out and take the measurement of the when you look at the it forecast you think it's going to move. and you look at the european model and they're trending to the west. what do you think of the storm's path at this point? it's going to be impacted heavily. >> and the size of the storm too. it's such a very large storm that those impacts are going to be widespread to the east of fllthral. it doesn't mean the east is not going to receive impact. it's still going to be very bad

the there. it's the worst case scenario near south of naples and the tampa bay area is going to experience a potentially devastating storm surge and it depends on the timing. it's going to hug the northern coast of cuba. it doesn't look like that's going to happen. it looks like it's going to come into the keys as a category 1. >> thank you. as you know we'll get you back. stay safe, brothers. we'll see you soon. when we come back, much more on our breaking news. bracing for a direct hit from hurricane irma. expect to be a category 5 storm when it makes land fall. but one of the biggest dangers may be from massive storm surge along the coast.

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and it's not tested for in routine blood work. the cdc recommends all baby boomers get tested. if you have hep c, it can be cured. for us it's time to get tested. ask your healthcare provider for the simple blood test. it's the only way to know for sure. allergytry new xyzal®.ou have symptoms like these for relief is as effective at hour 24 as hour one. so be wise all take new xyzal®. hurricane irma expected to slam into florida as a category 5 storm packing catastrophic winds. it's also expected to bring dangerous storm surges to the east and west coasts of florida. and all along the keys. down to key west. joining me now by skype the founder and president of marine weather and climate.

so good to have you here. we're potentially looking at storm surge of 5 to 10 feet for the miami metro area. what's rar storm surge that big going to do to a major metro area like miami? we can't hear you. can you hear me? no audio with hal. keep trying. still don't have him? all right. no hal. all right. we'll take a break. we'll be right back. david. what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job.

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this is cnn breaking news. >> so here's our breaking news at this hour. the great escape. this is cnn tonight. i'm don lemon. one of the largest mass evacuations in u.s. history underway tonight right now. millions of people running for their lives. ahead of massive hurricane irma. now expected to strength en to category 5 before slamming florida with a direct hit on

sunday. irma which has sustained winds of 155 miles per hour has left a trail of destruction and death as it takes aim right at south florida. the national weather service tweeting this ominous warning. saying nowhere in the florida keys will be safe. nowhere in the florida keys will be safe and florida's governor warning anyone who is still not taking this storm seriously we can't save you when the storm starts. we're waiting a new forecast to come at the top of the hour. we came to you early. i want to get right to cnn's derek van dam. take us to the ground. you're a meteorologist as well. what makes this storm so dangerous? what are you seeing? i know that's a lot. but take us through it. >> reporter: so don, we are on ocean drive in south beach of miami and normally on any given night, especially in the summer,

especially on a friday evening, this street would be teamed with cars and pedestrians but as you can see very little activity with the exception of one bar, one lonely restaurant where they kicked out the last few people that decided to stay and have the final beer. we're talking about threats. i would imagine this particular area because we're so close to the sea, five to 10 foot inundation from storm surge not out of the question. we've got a long fetch of wind that's going to push up the ocean currents the next 24 hours. aside from storm surge we know winds are going to be a threat as well. kicking up debris, making it significantly difficult foojust be standing within this area. people have listened to the evacuation orders squr they have really heeded the call with the exception of a few stragallers that have decided stay behind. you can see them exiting the bar