the tampa bay area.nd when we are talking about a 10-foot, 15-foot storm surge, that is going to go over top of homes and inundate cities around the area and move well inland. they haven't had a hurricane this strength in 100 years. 1921. we didn't even name them back then. so that is the biggest concern. people are urged if you live in the tampa area, you need to listen to your local officials. this is the worst case scenario if the track comes true as we are predicting it right now. let's take a look at the satellite imagery. moving over western cuba made landfall earlier this morning. the eye still intact. category 3 storm. 125 mile-per-hour winds at 130. that's a cat 4. and we are expecting that in ths very close to the west coast of florida. latest tracking worst case scenario for the tampa area that bay will be inundated. this will be like a bulldozer moving water in. and we are talking about close to 2 feet of rain in the tampa area. here is where we have our hurricane warning. want to make note f

the population of the bay area, tampa bay area has grown tremendously just over the last few years. in a sense, that's a good thing because those newer residents haven't been through a hurricane and haven't been threatened by this so they are the ones that typically do heed the warnings and evacuate as necessary. but like we said before and what the governor said now is the time to execute your plan. we are past making a plan. it is time to execute that plan. >> bill: he had mentioned that storm hurricane charley, it was 2004, 18 years ago. that storm was on a path to hit tampa or parts south of it and it took a right-hand turn and really the force of that storm and the upper right-hand quad rant is what socked i believe it was the town of punt yeah gored yeah and the devastation was enormous. you don't know where this storm could make a decision. >> exactly that. these storms have a mind of their own and charley is that great example. right now it is projected to come right through the tampa bay area. of course, we are standing by ready to respond and are ready for that. like the g

here is fox forecast model, this will be worst case scenario for the tampa area, one of the worst areas in terms of storm surge this can impact and we're concerned the rain forecast, 18 to 24 inches for this region, and again, all of that water being piled into the tampa bay area, we are concerned for this storm, in particular. looking at hurricane irma, this is last time a storm of this magnitude affected this region and that was back in 2017, we also had matthew, a destructive category five storm that went up toward the panhandle, when we look at storms in this region, it is been years, so a lot of new folks live across the west coast of florida and have never experienced a major hurricane, that is concerning. we look back historically, hurricane irma, we were thinking it was going to be a tampa storm, it made landfall on marco island, landfall near the keys, so historically, the storm was supposed to affect tampa and made landfall south of the area, that is why i tell you, you need to be prepared south and north of tampa because we still have considerable honing in on the forecast. p

so here in the tampa bay area — the last few hours? so here in the tampa bay area as you _ the last few hours? so here in the tampa bay area as you see - the last few hours? so here in the tampa bay area as you see a - the last few hours? so here in the tampa bay area as you see a lot l the last few hours? so here in the| tampa bay area as you see a lot of wind that has been coming through. the winds have been up anywhere between 130 mph. first responders are responding to calls. we have a couple calls about being down but overall we haven't seen the aftermath of the storm we know we will get a lot of the rain which will get a lot of the rain which will flood a lot of the low—lying areas of the tampa bay area. since the storm has hit we know there is a lot of flooding down south which is the counties below us and of course with all of the resources we were able to prepare for we have the resources available and ready to assist the other counties down south. we are hurricane ian had a big impact on. just south. we are hurricane ian had

the worry is 12 inches of rain and the storm surge of perhaps ten feet into the tampa bay area. that would be historic. >> it would. they are talking about this, comparing to the 1921 hurricane that did not have a name that brought devastating damage to the tampa bay area and they are fearing this could be very similar to that, and we are talking about four times the amount of population in the tampa bay area from 100 years ago. this is the latest for hurricane ian, still a category 3 storm, even though it lost its water source for several hours, still looking very intact and that is scary because now it's going to go over high octane fuel of the gulf of mexico with temperatures close to 90 degrees and not a lot of wind shear to tear it apart. 125 mile per hour sustained winds, a cat 4, the pressure is dropping. so that means a stronger storm from 4:00 a.m. abundant moisture over land and now hours of fuel to go through across the gulf of mexico and the worst case scenario, is the center of circulation over the tampa bay area and bringing a wall of water. this is just like a push

of florida more vulnerable than other parts of florida. >> the area around tampa bay, there are of low-lying areas compounded with a lot of development. so we have a large population that has built up since the last hurricane. and it is build up in low-lying areas and so we have a lot of exposure. a lot of risk. >> the florida national guard has activated 5,000 florida guardsman and 2,000 additional guardsmen from tennessee and georgia and north carolina. >> reporter: every official here with dire warnings to prepare for the very worst. >> this is going to be a storm like we have not seen in the past. >> reporter: and that is the real concern. i could tell you people are really bagging up sand as much as possible right now to get ready, specially in the low-lying areas, they want to protect their homes and at this facility, you show up after sitting for hours waiting to bag your own bags and to take them home. at one location they had already passed out 10,000 bags as of 1:00 and i want to show you something, as we walk this direction, to show you this line and how long it is. lo

yesterday we were thinking it was going to hit panama city but now it's real. >> reporter: the tampa area more vulnerable. >> there are a lot of low lying areas compounded with a lot of development so we have a large population that's built up and it's built up in low lying areas. we have a lot of exposure. a lot of risk. >> reporter: the florida national guard has activated 5,000 florida guardsmen as well as 2,000 guardsmen from tennessee, georgia, and north carolina. >> reporter: every official with dire warnings to prepare for the very worst. >> this is going to be a storm like we have not seen in the past. >> reporter: and we talked to residents who waited in line for up to two hours to be able to bag up some of this sand. they are taking this warning very seriously because they want to put these bags around their homes to block that water. in one location they told us they had given out 10,000 bags and that was before 1:00. ryan young, cnn, tampa, florida. >>> in just a few hours, five members of the oath keepers, including leader stewart rhoades, go on trial in d.c. for seditious co

tampa bay. the master majority around the -- puts a gourd area. that's a 75 so miles up south of tampa bay. but again, you kind of see this, you follow these trends, these models, you generally know, if it's going to shift every single model, around a little farther to the south. probably see a storm that is wobbling farther and farther towards the south. that is why we think landfall will happen a bit sooner than initially expected. but notice, that make sure part charlotte, granted, fort myers, some of these areas could see storms surge magnets is up to nine feet. that is catastrophic! threats in place there because of that southern ship, portions of tampa bay that were forecast to be closer to nine feet this time, few pockets to get up to 6 to 3 states. that's pretty, high but one of the elements of concern. we are watching with the system, and john, when you look at the factors here at play, what's happening in the gulf of mexico. the floyd shot off of the west coast of florida there, spans about 150 or so miles off towards the west here. and it's very shallow, broad child it's in place

area. that's really the main highway that you can take from the tampa bay area to get further inland. and so folks are worried that if they don't get out with enough time, they're eventually going to hit this traffic, and that's one of the things that officials don't want to happen. here in gulfport, the concern is going to be the storm surge, similar to the rest of pinellas county. we're talking about anywhere between 5 to 10 feet of a storm surge. and with all of that water hitting from the gulf of mexico and then coming into the bay, the fear is that we're going to see some pretty bad flooding. now, just yesterday, the governor, governor ron desantis, he doubled the number of members of the florida national guard to 5,000 and we're also being told that the state of tennessee is also sending more than a thousand members of their national guard, all of those resources are going to be making their way to florida. now, exactly where they're going to go is still very much up in the air. a lot of these resources are being redeployed to certain parts of the state. however, they want to ha

this is just in the tampa bay area. current cons current conditions are really mild. we are starting off the week with mild conditions across across the board but we will see see a midweek warm-up. partly cloudy skies for us today as low low pressure is still the driving factor. we are seeing cooler temperatures and an onshore flow keeping us nice and and brisk. it will be a little n in the 80s. we will see 90 is returning by friday as high pressure starts building its way way in, warming us up. that is the big weather story. is a midweek warming trend. nonetheless, we are above average for the next eight to 14 14 days, issued by the climate prediction center. as we take a look at these afternoon daytime highs, 80s are in the forecast. that is not bad. 60s along the coastline is average. even in san rafael, we are 77. this is beautiful trail walking weather. weather. you can take your bike out. we're expecting 70s through 70s through san francisco and 8s and upper 80s, where we want to highlight the friday being one of the warmest for us. we will keep you updated but

can you talk about why the tampa bay area is so vulnerable when you're looking at five to ten foot stormn. >> sure. the issue with the tampa bay area is the shape and how it is lined up relative to hurricane ian's forecast track. the bay opens up to the southwest and if ian ends up taking a path that puts the strongest onshore winds into the bay, that is what could make that situation a lot worse. if it ends up on the other side, and you get offshore winds from the bay, it won't be remotely as bad. >> gotcha. so if the storm goes up through the bay like it has been looking for last little bit, do you think it is shaping up to be a perfect storm in the worst sense to be headed at the tampa area? >> yeah, the worst case would be if the eye tracks just to the west and north of tampa which could place the eastern or on shore eye wall on the bay. that is the worst case, that is how you maximize the storm surge there. >> i've also been reading about separa separate and apart from the storm itself but adding to the concern is king tides setting in this week as well. how could the timing of this

area. i think tampa bay will be spared. right now, the water level is going down because the winds coming out of the east and pushing the water out towards the ocean. it's interesting to see how that develops during the day. you mentioned governor ron desantis earlier this morning, he also said, if you planning to get out in this part of the state, it's already too late. take a listen. >> it's no longer possible to safely evacuate. it's time to hunker down and prepare for this storm. this is a powerful storm that should be treated like you would treat if a tornado was approaching your home. >> reporter: i think biggest threat will be the winds, the possibility of power outages more than 30,000 utility workers around the state to jump into action. i think the next 12 hours will be very telling as the governor said, it's going to be a very messy day. >> ainsley: they did have a warning. i'm surprised all the boats behind you. you think they would remove those expensive boats. thank you so much. storm chaser brett adair join u

. >>> and video showing a steady stream of traffic, a scene leaving the tampa area. this happened overnight. people trying to get inland from the coast taking cover. the storm, perhaps, testing their patience. one tampa resident waited three hours to get free sandbags. a u.s. military insulation, moving aircraft can and naval ships out of the tampa and jacksonville areas. an idea how big the storm is, nasa released this video of hurricane ian from the international space station. >> all right. i want to bring in michael brennan, acting deputy brechter of the noaa. the national oceanic and atmospheric administration. michael, thanks, again, for joining us today as well. so tell us, obviously tampa low-liaring. what is the greatest threat? >> along much of the west central florida coast from tampa down to the fort myers area. since yesterday seen the track shift farther to the south or to the east. expecting the center of the end to cross the coast of west central florida near the south of the region increases risk of storm surge in places like fort myers, charlotte har

of course, this is a monster storm, so we will still get significant rain and wind here in the tampa area. but the people who live in this area, the news appears to be a little brighter tonight. as this storm appears to be, the worst of it will be going to ourselves and are those areas that you just mentioned including sarasota or do we know if they're ready? because of course, is always this guessing game based on where we think it's going to land, you know, evacuation orders based on that. is sarasota ready? are those areas ready? right? yeah, yeah. because the initial forecasts had such a wide what they call a cone of uncertainty, that really was at least 150 miles north to south. all of these areas along the florida gulf coast have been getting ready and as matter of fact, the governor of the local leaders have told the lowest lying areas, the people directly on a body of water be at the gulf, or a river to start evacuating. and those evacuation orders started yesterday and so as yesterday as progress it today, we've started to see more and more evacuation orders as that forecast trac

areas. this time yesterday we were talking about a tampa landfall and now the storm is forecast to move inland south of there for the fort myers area, that is low lying, as well. you don't have time to make a lot of decisions and need to know what to do when the waters rise, it is going to happen. the keys, hurricane-force winds. this is close to the west coast of florida, it will impact much of the west coast, even though we're expecting landfall this afternoon, anywhere between sarasota and fort myers and again this is a vulnerable low-lying area. very concerned about this region, we saw the tornados reported yesterday, the tornado watch continues today. that is ongoing, we'll not be talking about ef-5 tornado, but weaker tornados can do structural damage. tornado threat ongoing for were of the state and that will continue into tomorrow and through the weekend as the storm moves toward southeast and midatlantic. warnings now, hurricane warning, meaning we'll see hurricane conditions from naples to tampa and orlando. disneyland shut down for the next couple days, look at the real estate, hurr

the florida department of transportation is suspending tolls in the tampa bay area and the polk parkway and midday bridge in okaloosa, and spence parkway and in santa rosa and all of the tampa bay area, pinellas byway and connector in broward counties ands with' continue to monitor the path of hurricane ian, we may do more toll suspensions in other parts of the state if that is warranted. some school districts have announced school closures for this upcoming week and you may see more as the track becomes more certain. if you want to look at most updated information regarding schools get that at fldo fldoe.org/storm info. and the florida national guard is activated 5,000 florida guardsmen as well as 2,000 additional guardsmen from tennessee, georgia, and north carolina that have been activated to help. we've also had five urban search and rescue teams that are activated. we have florida fish and wildlife commission mobilized and ready to support needed for thes and of course the u.s. coast guard is willing and able to assist in preparation and response. we've declared a state of emergenc

erma made its impact in 2017 south of the tampa bay area, originally it was supposed to effect tampa but, you know, that's what happened with these storm forecasts. we do our very best to give you the indication of where the main impact is going to be. south of that area. north of that area. all along the west coast we are going to be dealing with heavy rain and flooding. also the concern for tornadoes and hurricane force winds. this is a dire situation. very dangerous potentially deadly. and people need to heed all of those warnings. i know we have the governor coming up 9:00 a.m. and into the mode of saying we need to save lice. you need to pay attention. you need to evacuate. back to you. >> exactly right. all right. janice. thank you very much. it's just not a request. think about it. i'm looking at the tampa bay times. starting last night at 6:00 p.m., pinellas county residents in evacuation zone a plus all mobile home residents are under a mandatory evacuation order. and starting at 7:00 a.m. this morning. so five minutes ago, mandatory evacuation orders are now in effect for pi

>> in the tampa bay area for rescue? well, i mean obviously we have enough assets and we understand this is a big, big impact that the rescue efforts are not going to be limited to one municipality or one county. you'll potentially have more. my hope is that you're not going to need massive rescue efforts the further away you are from the storm. i also have a huge amount of confidence in the folks in the tampa bay area. you look at sheriff's departments, these are very first rate operations. they have excellent ability to respond to that. kevin will be here, our folks will be here if needed, but our sense is that the further away from the storm, probably the local responders are going to be able to handle that. here in southwest florida, you're going to have all those local responders out but then you're also going to have all this support, coast guard, fwc, you're going to have national guard. i mean, this is a really, really concerted effort, and that's just the reality when you have such a significant impacted spot so

hurricane coming. >> the last time the tampa bay area >> be safe. >> reporter: why did you draw that >> because there's a hurricane coming. >> the last time the tampa bay area took a direct hit was in 1921 and only five major hurricanes have come within 50 miles since 1851which wa mayor frank hibard >> there was talk of charlie which was originally coming right at clearwater back in 2004, and so a lot of our older but this storm really has put a lot of fear into folks. >> usually we've been really lick, and the storm doesn't hit us dead on in the tampa bay area this one doe residents who have been here a long time, they can be complacent because of the number of near misses that we've had, but this storm really has put a lot of fear into folks. >> usually we've been really lick, and the storm doesn't hit us dead on in the tampa bay area this one does feel a little bit different. >> reporter: that fear sending people like david aboard his boat "kokomo." >> pretty anxious moments. >> reporter: checking the lines to prepare for feet of water after shoring up his home. are you worried abo

florida's director of emergency management said more than 100 nursing homes and hospitals in the tampa areaated. grocery stores up and down the coast are packed as residents rush to grab last-minute supplies, but many are finding nothing but empty shelves. hurricane ian slammed into cuba as a category 3 storm with winds of 125 miles per hour, knocking out power to more than a million people. and the storm is gaining strength in the open waters of the gulf of mexico. check out these satellite images showing the eye of the storm packed with lightning. one of the biggest concerns is that ian could dump record amounts of rain and cause dangerous storm surge across 600 miles of coastline. we have got team coverage tonight, and we want to begin with cbs's omar villafranca right here in tampa with us. good evening, omar. >> reporter: good evening. tampa hasn't taken a direct hit from a hurricane since 1921. and even though the city may dodge ian's bullet, people here aren't taking any chances. floridians are on the move. >> they say mandatory evacuation, it's time to go. >> reporter: all along flo

here's now the hurricane warning for the tampa area.conditions go downhill in the keys tomorrow morning. southwest florida by the afternoon and up into tampa tomorrow night into thursday morning. there's still some variation in some of the models. this is good we want to see it off to the west. we want to see this move in what could be a disaster. this does not have to make landfall to be one of the worst-case scenarios ever for the tampa area. if it hangs offshore and sits for a while, it's going to be really bad. it goes up to category 4 already. that interaction with land means nothing, other rapid intensification process keeps it as a four. that's a lot of water, again, as a major hurricane carrying all that water welling underneath it. even though we're still at a three, notice how close these are. it doesn't have to make landfall. this could be the worst thing they've seen since 1921. >> even if it doesn't makelandfall, it could have that effect. there could be a chance where ian could slow down and sit for 47 hours, 47 hours. wha

officials told people in this area of the tampa bay area you have until tonight to get out. a few folks we talked to said they are taking some precautions. they have the hurricane supplies in order but going to stay put because they feel it is a high enough area to make this through. >> biggest worry? flooding maybe. i hope it doesn't come up further than it normally does. that's the biggest worry, flooding. >> reporter: over in hillsborough county in tampa there officials ordered another 90,000 residents to go ahead and pack up the things to get out of town because they live along the coast. with two orders in tampa looking at over 370,000 people in hillsborough county. erica? >> that is a lot and so important, too, to heed the warnings. appreciate the reporting. thank you. joining us is tampa's mayor who said the city is preparing for a devastating amount of water. tampa mayor castor with us now. thank you for the time. in a briefing this morning you said it could be a worst-case scenario and could be a forecast saying it is worse. would the change in this track a little b

the national hurricane center projects the tampa bay area could see up to ten feet of flooding. what is it like on the ground? >> reporter: yeah, i mean, we just heard this, hillsborough county are extending their mandatory evacuation orders not just for zone a but for zone b, and in this county alone, 300,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders, and we are seeing businesses closing and more and more gas stations running out of gas and putting these bags on the valves, and people are making the decision to evacuate areas that have been under orders, and they are assessing to see if they should stay or go. for a lot of people in florida, this is a normal part of their lives and many people here in tampa say in the past they have not evacuated but this time they are. listen. >> i have never left during a hurricane, but this time i have four dogs and my girls, and i will do the right thing and just get away and come back and hopefully nothing is damaged. >> tampa international airport are suspending all flights starting at 5:00 today, and all in florida right now seven cou

florida's director of emergency management said more than 100 nursing homes and hospitals in the tampa areavacuated. grocery stores up and down the coast are packed, as residents rush to grab last-minute supplies-- but many are finding nothing but empty shelves. hurricane ian slammed into cuba as a category 3 storm, with winds of 125 miles per hour, knocking out power to more than a million people. and the storm is gaining strength in the open waters of the gulf of mexico. check out these satellite images, showing the eye of the storm packed with lightning. one of the biggest concerns is that ian could dump record amounts of rain and cause dangerous storm surge across 600 miles of coastline. we have got team coverage tonight, and we want to begin with cbs's omar villafranca, right here in tampa with us. good evening, omar. >> reporter: good evening. tampa hasn't taken a direct hit from a hurricane since 1921. and even though the city may dodge ian's bullet, people here aren't taking any chances. floridians are on the move. >> they say mandatory evacuation-- it's time to go. >> reporter: all

some people in the tampa area would say we have dodged a bullet. the mayor is saying we're not out of the woods just yet. norah? >> o'donnell: david begnaud, thank you. alex wilson from our partners at the weather channel is in orlando tracking where the hurricane is headed next. good evening, alex. >> good evening, norah. the worst yet to come for the city of orlando, not just flooding rainfall, but hurricane-force wind gusts, likely into tomorrow morning. the storm itself will continue to move slowly off to the north and east. it weakens as it does so. but, again, still likely to see hurricane-force wind gusts here in central florida, but the big story will be the rain moving forward. we have a flashflood-watch in place. we have seen 20 50e20-inch ofrainfall. here in orlando, we can see 12 to 14 inches of rainfall. and the southeastern states, flooding rain and damaging wind gusts likely. a lot still yet to go. norah? >> o'donnell: and then into the carolinas and virginia. thank you so much. ian's hurricane-force winds and record storm surge is d

as we mentioned, the tampa florida areas getting ready for a possible direct.ls warning residents that this is the real deal. ian is now a category two storm with maximum winds of 100 miles per hour and it's expected to strengthen. mandatory evacuations are underway in some parts of the tampa bay region. right, now the eye of the storm is near the western tip of cuba. cnn's patrick oppmann joins us from havana. patrick, what are the conditions there like tonight? >> well bands of rain all afternoon. john, right now is a moment you feel right before extra. you know from your years of covering hurricanes, the calm before the storm. and it does not feel like a hurricane is on its way, but of course that is exactly what is about to have. meteorologist say that throughout the evening, into the early morning hours, this hurricane will cut across western cuba. not a very popular dairy, but all across the western side will begin to feel the impacts of this powerful hurricane. already 20,000 people in the province to the west of me have evacuated from their homes, ahead

expected. >> a storm that slows down for 24 to 48 hours and continuously dumps rain into the tampa bay area is devastating. >> reporter: hurricane ian is expected to dump at least two to three months worth of rainfall by friday, possibly as much as 24 inches of rain in tampa and west central florida. >> it only takes 18 inches of water. >> reporter: tampa's airport taking no chances. >> 5:00 p.m. today, no more commercial flights. >> reporter: evacuation osrders expanding since monday, with shelters opening without options to weigh out the storm. >> i've never been in a hurricane. this is my first time. and my first time at a shelter. but i feel better here than if i would be alone at home. >> reporter: those riding out the storm racing to get sandbags. facing lines for gas. >> we're out of water, folks. >> reporter: and the familiar scramble to stock up on food and water, then hurry up and wait. art the governor speaking moments ago, saying the time is now to evacuate, that later is just too late. he's activate 5,000 national guard troops here in the state of florida. he has search and res

thankfully it seems like many in the tampa bay area have listened. are out of their homes and in those mandatory evacuation zones. you talked about that receding water, many people in tampa bay said they saw that when we had hurricane irma hit the gulf coast of florida five years ago. interesting phenomenon. it doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, it can definitely be dangerous. >> kayleigh: it is certainly rare. one last question for you, this is the fifth strongest hurricane to ever hit the continental u.s. as i see it, there was one and labor day 1935, there was camille in '69, and andrew, the miami area will never forget that, and hurricane michael in 2018. this is coming in at number five. is that right, nicole? >> it definitely looks like it based on what are meteorologist over at fox weather has been talking about today. when you're talking about a storm that is teetering on a category 5, winds at 155 miles per hour, it's hard to talk about the last time we saw something as dangerous, as threatening to people, especially when you tal

. >>> good evening, the tampa bay area is preparing for a potentially catastrophic hurricane. a worst-case scenario, say local leaders. the likes of which they have not seen in more than a century. more than 300,000 floridians are already ordered to evacuate as hurricane ian intensifies rapidly. it is now a category two storm and strengthening. ian is expected to slam western cuba tomorrow morning as a category three hurricane, then explode in strength to a category four before the storm's center passes excruciatingly slowly within 10 miles of safety. that means that the tampa area will be on the nasty right side of the storm, maximum inundation from storm surge and drenching rains. we have a live look in tampa where the mayor has a simple warning, if you can leave, leave now. more than 100 years the city has dodged major hurricanes, tampa is incredibly vulnerable to water very shallow, with many in low-lying neighborhoods where flooding would be devastating. this is a view of hurricane ian from space recorded by the international space station. the acting director of the nati

tropical storm in yellow, but we have that hurricane watch for good reason up to the north, and the tampa bay areal signs this is going to park itself there for quite some time. >> and tampa hasn't seen a storm like in a hundred years. why is that area so vulnerable. >> part of it is geographical, how it's sat in the area with the bay in the region. you see the american model, the european model. think of the millions that have moved into the area. this is going to be the first major hurricane 25 miles, the closest to tampa since 1950. the problem is it's going to stall. the last thing we want, the worst case scenario, when hurricanes stall, bad things happen. it's going to stall right offshore. it's going to throw the storm surge into tampa bay and all the inlands. it's not just on the coastline. you can see tampa 5 to 10 feet. 5 to 8 from sarasota down south of englewood. you're getting closer and look at the inlets in the bay, once that surge moves in and it continues to churn offshore, not moving from 36 to 48 hours, not only is it pushing miles in, it impedes the water from receding, you get

motorists using the extra lane helped more vehicles exit safely out of the tampa area. toll suspension will remain in place for motorists looking to evacuate, and those who have not evacuated certain areas. the total list of suspended tolls can be found on our website. as the storm is making landfall, we continue to monitor flood prone areas in case closures are needed. once winds are beyond 40 miles per hour sustained, fhp will begin closing roads and bridges to ensure safety. the department has worked tirelessly to immediately begin storm recovery efforts once the storm has passed through. we are staged and ready to perform road and bridge inspection as soon as it is safe to do so. coastal bridges are one of our top priorities as we support the life safety mission following the storm. additionally, roadway clearance operations, debris removal, traffic signal repairs and generators. having these ready and sure as fhp staff, contractors and partners can spring into action and begin recovery efforts including clearing roadways for emergency responders, utility workers and

in las vegas, one week ahead of super bowl sunday >>> 45 seconds on a race to the finish the tampa bay arearacing for a potentially devastating hurricane. forecasters say ian will likely slam western cuba tomorrow as a category 3, then strengthen to category 4 before it approaches the tampa/st. pete area. >>> a gunman with a swastika on his shirt opened fire on a school in central russia, killing 11 children. investigators say he then killed himself. >>> and protesters still raging in iran over the death of a young woman who died in custody over the government's morality police and now, you know the news of this monday, september 26th, 2022 i'm shepard smith. thank you for checking in tonight. we'll see you back here tomorrow has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com. >>> it

in las vegas, one week ahead of super bowl sunday >>> 45 seconds on a race to the finish the tampa bay areasters say ian will likely slam western cuba tomorrow as a category 3, then strengthen to category 4 before it approaches the tampa/st. pete area. >>> a gunman with a swastika on his shirt opened fire on a school in central russia, k killing 11 children. investigators say he then killed himself. >>> and protesters still raging in iranover the death of a young woman who died in custody over the government's morality police and now, you know the news of this monday, september 26th, 2022 i'm shepard smith. thank you for checking in tonight. we'll see you back here tomorrow i'd like to thank our sponsor liberty mutual. they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. contestants ready? go! only pay for what you need. jingle: liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. only pay for what you need. >> welcome to the shark tank, where entrepreneurs seeking an investment will face these sharks. if they hear a great idea, they'll invest their own money or fight each other for a deal.

much and certainly, the impacts are gonna be a little more extensive when it comes to areas south of the tampa bay. area you'll notice 95 miles south of naples florida at this. our at 2 am advisory from the national hurricane center. and the hurricane guidance will keep this as a category. for landfall, somewhere in areas near port charlotte, just as you get south of tampa bay, into the early afternoon hours of wednesday. with that win point sustain, 130 miles per hour, pushes inland, drops down to a tropical storm, reemerges over the eastern side there on thursday into friday. and possibly makes another landfall there across eastern georgia, come friday into saturday. but the model guidance that was initially pushing it well offshore, then gradually closer to tampa bay has now entirely moved it, about 75 miles or so so the tampa bay but port showers, at port -- siesta key, these are the reasons we are watching. and again, notice the variability and the track. we often talk about this. you do not just fall in love with one model, one line, and one track. you look at guidance within every singl

that's not what you want to hear in the tampa area. you do need to be pretty preparing at least 3 to 4 days from now, that possible landfall wednesday night, thursday morning. that's only one computer model. our american computer model was way off the coast last night. you can see it with all the white circles and the spinning there. and then this morning, it shifted 100 miles toward tampa. one of these computers will be right, the other wrong. the american model hinting at heading toward that european solution. obviously, the west coast of florida, things looked a bit better yesterday. not today. we are trending back towards the coast. a lot of our hurricane computer models, you are seeing the squiggly lines here, each line represents a possible path of the center of eta. some are still targeting, it's kind of divided into camps. some take a right turn towards saratoga, tampa bay the other ones go towards -- tallahassee. the other thing is, it is a disorganized storm right now. we love this. we want this to stay as weak as possible as

judy: and now let's hear more about the preparations and the concerns in the tampa area. m is back without. correspondent: as we have been reporting, major evacuations continued this evening and officials arwarning about a significant storm surge that could hit tampa and south was for to hard. the mayor of tampa joins me now from the emergency operations center in the city. mayor, thank you for being here. can you give us a sense of how preparations are going now? >> we are finished with the preparations. we have been in that for quite some time, but have called for a mandatory evacuation in zone a. for those not familiar with tampa, we have 120 miles of coastline in our city, so zone a are those individuals in close proximity to the water, so we have evacuated individuals in that zone and have given or 50,000 sandbags out. we have prepared as much as we can in tampa. our residents are heeding the rnings on leaving for higher ground. we have told them you do not have to that the state. we just need you to get the higher ground out of the storm surge, which at this point it

there is going to be flooding throughout the tampa bay area. >> reporter: tampa could see surge waters as high as seven feet. the storm is likely to slow down over the city causing more rainfall and flooding. >> so we're talking not just the bay but our rivers, our canals. i mean, every source of water is going to be flooded. >> reporter: flights halted across much of the state. dozens of residents lining up to get sand bags in tampa and orlando. all of florida bracing for the storm. >> the main message i have for everyone in florida is that this is going to impact everyone in different ways so you need to stay focused. >> reporter: hurricane ian already leaving a path of destruction in cuba. it made landfall as a category 3 hurricane with winds of 125 miles per hour knocking out power and tearing down trees. now local officials here warning about historic flooding, catastrophic flooding over the next couple of days, especially in the tampa area where we are now surrounded by rivers like the one you see behind me, canals and the coast line. officials say they're most worried about wate

advisory, a storm surge warning for the tampa bay area and points to the south. we still have category 4, but it drops to a category 1. pay no attention to the category 1. because it's so vulnerable, the tampa bay area and sopoints southward are the most vulnerable points of florida. the bay is going to act as a catcher's mit. we have the hurricane watch and we have warnings to the south in the keys areas. but look at how much of an agreement we have between the u.s. model and the european. they were well off the last couple of days, so you want to see an agreement so you can get a better understanding of what this outcome may be. it may not end up like this, but this is unfortunately what we're finding, worst case scenario. but if i had worse news, and unfortunately i do, i've got to give it to you, it looks like the system is going to crawl at 5 miles per hour just offshore. instead of continuing that northward trend and then turning again to the right across florida, it puts on the brakes. take a look at this area of brown. this is very dry air, extremely dry,

they have not seen a storm of this magnitude in the tampa area since 1921, more than 100 years. so, safe to say they are not taking any chances. you can see the folks here at this sandbagging station here in tampa filling up those sandbags to protect their property as hurricane ian approaches the west coast of florida. major concerns of flooding. between 8 and 10 feet of storm surge, a massive wall of water pushed inland on top of 15 inches of rainfall that could be dumped on this area. hillsboro county officials have amended mandatory evacuation order just a few moments ago to include people who live in both zone a and b, additional 90,000 people have to evacuate now. and so far folks seem to be taking it seriously. we have already seen tens of thousands of people decide to get out of here. this morning, governor desantis urging folks to get to higher ground. >> under the current evacuation orders, which are probably pascoe down to collier, it's over 2 million evacuate to higher ground, and if you evacuate to higher ground in a structure that is sound, you are going to be fine.

that means the tampa area is going to be on a fringe.of punching a big storm surge up tampa bay, that is a little less. the problem is, on this track, it is looking to go right up through some of the big citrus producing areas. there is phosphate mining facilities in the way. you've got a decaying storm costing disney or orlando through the i-4 cooridor, the lowest we will see is $30 billion in economic impacts. if it stays stronger inland, we could hit $60 billion. guy: good morning. we had a graphic up that says this is one of the worst storms to hit the region in over a century. give me a sense from your perspective, the scale we are looking at. chuck: the last big storm to hit tampa area was 1921. it was nothing down there at that point. the way the track is shifting now, it is -- you've got a more recent example, hurricane charlie in 2004. that -- if you account for 15 years worth of growth, $25 billion storm. we are in that realm. definitely going to be one of the stronger storms and more damaging storms. in particular, given the e

as we mentioned, the tampa, florida, area is getting ready for a possible direct hit.s warning residents this is the real deal. ian is now a category 2 storm with maximum winds of 100 miles per hour and is expected to strengthen. mandatory evacuations are underway in some parts of the tampa bay region. the eye of the storm is near the western tip of cuba. patrick oppmann joins us from havana. patrick, what are the conditions there like tonight? >> reporter: we felt bands of rain all afternoon. you know from your years of covering hurricanes, the calm before the storm. it doesn't feel like a hurricane son its way. of course that is exactly what's about to happen. and cuban meteorologists say throughout the evening into the early morning hours, this hurricane will get across western cuba. it's not a very populated area, but the western side will begin to feel the impacts of this powerful hurricane. already 20,000 people in the ochbs -- evacuated from their homes ahead of this storm's arrival. in havana, we've seen in low lying areas people being evacuated by the governme

is rain and storm judge nearly 7 million people along the west coast of florida including the tampa bay area under a storm surge warning. >> it is a largest concern in northwest florida. 90% of concerns are water. >> reporter: 8 to 12 feet possible. around tampa a record surge is expected. >> going to be a lot of water why there's no doubt about that. a storm slowing down for 24 to 48 hours and continue wously dumps rain into the tampa bay area is devastating hurricane ian is expected to dump two to three months' of rainfall by friday. possibly 24 inches in tampa. >> you can't stay in the home. it takes 18 inches of water to be life threatening. >> reporter: the airport taking no chances. >> with the storm and the intensity of the winds we will close today at 5:00 p.m. no more commercial flights. >> reporter: evacuation orders expanding since monday with shelters open. >> i have never been in the hurricane. this is my first time. and my first time at a shelter. but i feel better here than if i would be alone at home. >> reporter: those riding out the storm racing to get sandbags facing lines

people in the tampa area throwing sandbags as the storm churns in the caribbean. lines long to stock up on supplies, and florida governor ron desantis declaring an emergency for the entire state including activating the national guard. carlos suarez, what are you seeing. >> reporter: the first round of evacuation, a mandatory evacuations will go into effect here in hillsboro county at 2:00 this afternoon. officials with the county tell us they expect to evacuate some 300,000 people that live near the coastline out here. we're live right now from one of three sandbag distribution sites, and folks at this location have been spending the entire morning getting what's left of the sand into the bags. a few folks are being sent just to the other side of where we are, where yet there is more sand for folks to be able to get as they get their homes ready for what may come this way. the big concern ahead of ian is the storm surge that we could be seeing. we're talking anywhere between 6 to 8 feet along the tampa bay area, and so we've got all of this water that's coming in

. >> the tampa bay area, in its final hours of hurricane preparations. tampa bay police making last-ditch efforts to warn residents to leave flood zones. now >> we're reinforcing the idea that you're in an area that you need to evacuate. >> this is not a drill. >> this is not the time to stay. >> serious warnings to residents here. this vulnerable area expected be the crosshairs of hurricane ian as it barrels towards the west coast of florida. >> we have over 120 miles of coastline just in the city of tampa. >> at least 2.5 million floridians under various evacuation orders. it's a storm that's predicted to cause water damage like none before it. >> we're talk about ten or 15 inches of rain on top of the surge. that is unprecedented. no infrastructure is built for that. >> with this hurricane, a direct hit is not necessarily going to cause flooding. a slow-moving storm's predicted stall just off the coast of tampa bay starting wednesday evening. >> going to be in our rivers, so to be in our streams, it's gonna be in our canals. it's going to be in our sto

coast with that cone of uncertainty of where it might make actual landfall somewhere between the tampa areawe reported it did begin to track south, suggesting it may make landfall early tomorrow afternoon and potentially south of tampa they are about to release an 8:00 p.m. updated advisory from the national hurricane center, so let's go there now. jamie rome is with us now, acting director of the national hurricane center jamie, i know how business you are. thanks so much i know the 8:00 update is the about to be published. anything of significance that has changed so far >> reporter: nothing has changed. the pressure is down a little bit indicating that ian is still trying to intensify. that's the last thing we want to hear as it approaches the coastline. can you see it here on the radar. it's within radar shot just south southwest of sayre so the a. i mean, this is shaping up, if it makes landfall as a major hurricane which is what our projections are, to be an incredibly impactful event for the florida peninsula. >> you know, you look at that radar that you're showing right there, and y