clearwater. some of those areas are low-lying, guys. they will see flooding and surge that comes in. this is going to continue for hours and hours, even after landfall and it's going to make its way into georgia and the carolinas. but, in the interim, this is what we're experiencing, a road that is now a rushing creek or even river. and the ebbs and flow of the winds. here we go again with another gust. back to you. >> steve: all right, robert. thank you very much a live report from clearwater on the west coast of florida. >> ainsley: he is in clearwater. let's bring in our fox weather correspondent in tampa not too far east of robert. nicole, what are you seeing out there? as we are witnessing that catastrophic storm surge really start to take effect. we are now looking at what is likely close to 4 feet of storm surge as we see the rain continue to fall here in tampa bay. you are watching all of the water from the bay get pushed on to this main road here that's now completely inundated under wat

near clearwater, this is a prone region as well.al of 4 to 7 feet as well. fourth north into the cedar key region are more oranges and reds. that's indicating the 8 to 12-foot storm surge. something no one wants to see. that is the reality that we are facing here. and, sara, you know, you talked about the force of storm surge. no one talks about that. 1,700 pounds, that's what a cubic yard of water weighs. so can you imagine 8 to 12 feet of water rushing in on to the shoreline with that amount of force and pressure, no one could withstand that. that is why there are mandatory evacuations that line this coastline. >> we are seeing these gorgeous pictures, derek. thank you for that. when we look at this beach and look from above, it is pristine and beautiful. will this be completely covered in water as the storm surge gets closer if hurricane wobbles closer to clearwater? >> look, our official forecast calls for 4 to 7 feet of inundation. that's above normally dry land. now, there is a couple of other complicating factors here we have

robert ray is in clearwater.hen we tossed to you last water was up to your calf and now it looks like it is up to your knees. >> yeah, close to it. it changes as the surge comes in, it can be calf or knee. up and down the street, i'm looking as far as my eye can see, it appears to be a river from the gulf of mexico surge coming in. same that way. you see that hotel, sunrise resort, there is a gentleman standing on high ground. he is smart. that vehicle probably should move thchl is what we've been experiencing all morning. the outure bands are creating surge and pushing across the beach in clearwater into the street. this is coronado drive. it is all one piece of water here right now. we expected up to seven feets, i don't think we will hit that, i hope not. no recession of this water yet as winds continue to go and landfall happened 7:45 a.m. at big bend. it shows the energy of this cat 4 system idalia, dangerous surge on big bend up to 15 feet. people, i hope they were not trying to hunker down on big bend. whe

pete beach up near clearwater. a few shifts near a mile or more will bring in the impact of storm surge pretty quickly. the clearwater beach reading keeps rising, 2.9 feet now. we have our bob van dilen on the beaches there, been showing how the water's crashed up on the barrier walls onto the sidewalks. they've closed off a portion of the road there right along the beaches. this, you know, even before we see that full southwest shift into clearwater beach, that's expected to happen as idalia continues to push a little bit further up to the north, but to see numbers this high already, this coinciding with the high tide, too which is already making the problem worse, is going to be a real tough stretch as we open up the rest of the day today. >> ian: jane, i was speaking with cody behind me in weather command. the hurricane hunters are in the storm and they're finding a pressure which is probably somewhere high in the 940's, somewhere around 948. keep in mind with the last update we got last hour at 1:00, minimum ce

speaking of that storm, we're learning right now out of clearwater, florida, clearwater public utilitieswater to clearwater beach today. we do this, they say, so if there is a mainbreak on the beach during the storm, we don't lose all the water. makes sense to me. brian onst is the mayor of that beautiful city. he joins us right now. mayor, how are things looking there? >> we're prepared. the good news, neil, is that after ian last year, the devastation in ft. meyers, sanibel, people are taking this seriously. in the past people didn't because we had so many people that just went by us, never hit us. they saw the devastation. we are not in the path to get the full brunt of this, but we're still going to get around 2 p.m. tomorrow peak of the storm surge, which will be 4 to 7 feet. which means clearwater beach will be under water, as will most of our beaches up and down the coast here. people need to get off the beach. the transportation stops at 5. there still will be emergency vehicles available to help. until winds reach 40, 45 miles an hour. >> neil: you talk about prior experiences,

off the gulf of mexico, clearwater beach.hat we are seeing and experiencing as a team myself and two photographers, fox news photographers is a very heavy band that has just come in. one of our meteorologist at fox weather in new york alerted me that this was coming and, boy, was he right. because this is coming in. counterclock wizard of oz. you see the wind, you feel the rain. the water inundating these streets. this water is acting like it should be here. like it owns the street. like it's a river. they expected this surge to come in into clearwater beach. that is why mandatory evacs went into place in pinellas county the last day or so. they began the evacs on sunday. let's hope everyone went out. all we have seen this morning a few official vehicles. pinal laths county vehicle and clearwater beach high water vehicle run through here. nobody else has been here. hopefully everyone has listen to the those evacuation orders as we are seeing an imminent landfall within the next hour of this hurricane, a cat 4 up in the big be

he has seen it from when it popped up on shore, robert ray is in clearwater, florida. >> clearwater beach, coronado drive flooded three hours ago. i was standing here, with the wind and the rain coming in, storm surge was by me, mid thigh. it has receded at this point and still getting the low from the bands even though it is up there. this arcane is a cat one in southern georgia omma still feeling the effects in clearwater beach, the tampa area. i spoke to officials a couple hours ago as they drove in a humvee, talked to a lieutenant of the clearwater police trying to assess what was going on around this barrier island, she told me she thinks most people heated the evacuation warnings, by their assessment they drove by and passed several homes. and they have not seen any structural damage here, we confirm two people lost their life in the state of florida, the hurricane came in as a category 3 had one point turned into a cat 4. we talk about the storm surge here and it has receded on clearwater beach in many areas. if we look at the big bend north of here where landfall occurred, storm s

we are just looking at pictures of clearwater beach in | at pictures of clearwater beach in tampa.e winds are. i hope you can still hear me. earlier, we had the governor asking people not to take risks. looking at these pictures, you won want to be out in that. how many people have been evacuated, we have any idea? i people have been evacuated, we have an idea? ., �* ., any idea? i don't have the exact total, but _ any idea? i don't have the exact total, but it _ any idea? i don't have the exact total, but it is _ any idea? i don't have the exact total, but it is into _ any idea? i don't have the exact total, but it is into the - any idea? i don't have the exact| total, but it is into the hundreds of thousands. 0ver total, but it is into the hundreds of thousands. over 20 plus counties were asked to evacuate, certainly along the gulf of mexico. all the folks in low—lying areas along the coast were being asked to evacuate. the truth is, here in charlotte county, i am several hundred miles south of where the direct impact was made, but we even have bridges closed because of the flood

tampa bay, for instance, clearwater where we are located. if it goes further west, apalachicola, panama city. it's a game of miles. pay attention the forecast track. right now we have big bend cedar key. anywhere this will be a large storm as it continues to expand, intensify. this is what's so phenomenal us to. water temperatures are running 2, 3 degrees farenheit above average. that's like jet fuel for hurricanes. that means this storm will deepen and strengthen and see its wind field grow. we'll see impacts well away from the center of that storm. >> you will feel that wind. it is the storm surge. it is flooding that is the most dangerous and most deadly. we'll be watching it. i'll pay attention to everything you're saying as you track this storm. back to you, phil. >> thank you, sara. thank you, derek. >>> we'll keep a close eye on this throughout the course of the next several hours and days. just to reiterate, idalia strengthened to a hurricane, category 1 hurricane 85 miles north of the western part of cuba. we will be watching that t

that is according to the clearwater police. now we still have the wind gusts pulling through here, the rain is done in earnest, the system is just massive and moving across and the remnants still are happening here. now guys, there are power outages all over florida, hundreds of thousands and up on the big bend, that is where the storm came in, idalia, at 7:45 a.m. this morning as a cat 3, it was a cat 4 just before it came ashore and 10 to 15 feet of storm surge on the bend in those fishing villages going in for perhaps even miles, knocking down some of those big lob lolly pine trees and life oaks and power lines. hundreds of thousands of workers are ready to go into the areas to clear the debris and address. pinellas county where i'm at is assessing this area, including tampa, tampa bay and the barrier islands. the storm may be gone and the good news is surge did not hit the potential, which was seven feet, that was the prediction. we went just under four feet and that is the silver lining, at least here in clearwater beach a

a similar scenario around clearwater beach. steve harrigan described the waters, the surge receding. take a look down this road as the camera lens trains all the way down to this neighborhood. i'm not exaggerating when i say this. less than 30 minutes ago, this was about a foot of water. now vehicles can go through. that's how quickly the recession of the surge has happened. we have seen that all up and down clearwater beach throughout the date. if we can, take a look at this video from before dawn. myself and team were live on "fox and friends." that's when the outer bands were raging in to clearwater beach as the wind was spinning up and the water just kicking up on the surge. you can see some of that water was knee deep, even higher than that. when the rain kicked in and the winds blew up the water, you can taste the saltwater in the gulf of mexico. right on my lips i could taste it. this area was on mandatory evacuation. according to police, most people heeded the warning and got out. no reported injuries on clearwater beac

live on the ground in clearwater, what is the latest, robert? >> good afternoon. clearwater beach.'m standing on coronado. we have bands of wind picking up and some spotty rain. isn't that amazing? this hurricane is over georgia and we are still feeling the effects here. police were serving this area while the road was full of water. they tell me they feel most people heeded mandatory evacuation warning. they think most people got out. they were cruising north clearwater beach and did not see many people that stayed. not a lot of structural damage, though the water is higher down there. we will go and take a look at that part of the island very soon. assess it for ourselves. i am not negating power and fury of this hurricane, the big bend area is where this hurricane came in as category 3. by the way, it hit category 4 strength at one point before landfall. that area taking upward 10 to 15 feet of storm surge, anyone in the way of that cannot survive. we saw that last year. structures get washed,a way and vehicles, and wind at 125 mile per hour, roofs will be ripped apart. in clear

clearwater beach is just over my shoulder there.nd if the drone goes higher nell varks in elevation, you will see the beach stretches for miles. and 4 to 7 feet for tampa bay. the pinellas county region. but look at the reds, 8 to 12 feet around cedar key region. that is where we're concerned about all of the shallow water from the eastern gulf of mexico that you see behind me, that warm water is going to push up and pile up into that almost catcher's mitt type topography feature. so what you are looking at is storm surge potential. and there is important because you can see the shades of orange around tampa bay, that is 4 to 7 feet perhaps locally higher. and then along the intercoastal water ways, barrier island, you can see yellows and oranges there as well. that is 4 to 7 feet of elevation above normal dry land. and this storm has got a trajectory towards the big bend, but again, we talk about the oneles with these strengthening storms. any deviation for the west or any deviation to the east has major implications for such large

>> i am in clearwater beach, mandatory, this is an island. if you go across these bridges over the inland to clearwater there are areas under mandatory over there but low-lying areas, the majority are not. we are going to stay at a fortress of a hotel, many vehicles in a safe place and we will capture the water as it comes in off of the coast and inundates these roads, businesses and homes. we are hoping for the best, but the way it looks, the surge is coming at it won't be like hurricane in a year ago, 15 feet plus, but we could have record surge here on clearwater beach of 7 feet or more. have not seen that kind of number in modern history. neil: just be safe. robert ray in the middle of that, hours away from being just that. we could be looking at, what do you think? >> reporter: right now maximum winds of 85 miles an hour. it has turned to the southwest of the fort myers area. it's considered a category one storm but eventually we anticipate idalia will undergo what we call rapid intensification. that means we will see winds increase by 3

pete as well as clearwater. we are told that there has been some reports of flooding there, right now, laura, this is the worst of the weather that we have seen, although when you take a look at the radar of, of course it explains why it is happening. we have that hurricane that is off to the west of the tampa bay area having, again, spent the better part of a day out here. we were talking to a number of folks who came out to this location and they told us, look, we don't think it is going to be as bad considering how things are right now, so a lot of folks that we came across told us, look, we are not going to evacuate, we're not going to go inland. it's a message that emergency officials really don't want to hear because the concern going into tonight and then tomorrow is that then we are going to start seeing storm surge and so the last thing that emergency officials want our for folks to be complacent and to be out and about thinking that the worst of the storm has passed by, which by a large will have, but

clearwater beach 3.1 feet matches that from old port tampa, st. petersburg. wind is coming up, out of the south eventually we will turn to the southwest and that puts us in the danger spot that pushes into tampa bay right into the coastline of st. petersburg then you have the barrier islands with mandatory evacuation orders that have been put into place heating the warnings but the storm surge threat expecting to see 6 feet with a worst-case scenario. we are halfway there with a high tide cycle we are expecting to see low tide emerge in the coming hours, as that comes in we have the push so will that allow the low tide to recede to keep that standing water at a consistent pace. venice, fort myers beach a devastating hit. ahead of schedule from where you are seeing that direct onshore push. hurricane idalia makes landfall this morning but continues through southeastern georgia and coastal carolinas through the day into tomorrow. flooding rain and tropical force wind. >> ian: we are minutes away from the 4:00 a.m. update thinking this is a stronger hurricane it

idalia is throwing haymakers right now into clearwater beach.ng through here on coronado drive right now. this is as intense as we've seen. liz: that was just between 24 minutes, and there the he is right now live on your screen, robert ray in clearwater, florida. robert, what does the damage look like right now where you are? >> reporter: yeah, good afternoon, liz. so you saw that video from earlier this morning right before or the sun came up as those bands came in, and it was nasty. it was intense for quite some time. but now you see this, i'm walking through a neighborhood. this is what storm surge has created. and if we can train the camera lens all the way down there, it goes on for a couple blocks, and it is literally block after block in these neighborhoods. but as quickly as the water has come up, it goes back and recedes the that fast as a well. we just with experienced that that in the past 20 minutes, half hour. we were, oh, i don't know, four blocks away9 and the road looked like this, and sure i enough, all the water receded. so th

this is clearwater beach, across from the inlet is clearwater. they are at higher ground., we hope there is not debris that comes flying and water does not way its way to pockets they were not expecting. it is coming through like this. it is just moving as if it is its own entity, like it should be here thshg is storm surge. >> todd: robert, you are in a foot of water, some areas expecting 15 feet of storm surge. safety is paramount and we know you will get to higher and safer ground. most homes in florida are single story and much smaller than 15 feet. are those homeings going to get wiped out with the storm surge? >> if there is a home on the big bend north of here where it goes into the panhandle, no doubt. a home that is single story and take 15 feet of storm surge, that water will rip it apart, tear the inside out like a hand grabbing furniture and even a human if they are there. that is why we did not make our way to the big bend to report live and give coverage, not safe fchl there is a vehicle, goodbye, as well. cell service likely going away. no coms. could be maj

these are live pictures from clearwater in florida. all around the state there is flooding, one man died in the big bend region after he lost control of his vehicle and struck a tree. some areas of the state are already seeing flooding, with knee—deep water covering roads and inundating towns. these are the latest pictures from jacksonville near to where the hurricane hit land. although the storm has continued to weaken the winds are around 90 mph. that is 150 kph. earlier florida governor ron desantis said 16 foot storm surges were expected in some areas. more than a quarter of a million people are without power. the hurricane is not crossing into southern georgia and we are expecting an update in the next hour from the authorities in florida. in a briefing just before the storm made landfall, florida governor ron desantis warned people against taking any risks. you don't want to be messing around with these winds. there's going to be things flying all over the place. obviously, if you're in a place that's close to the coast and you s

clearwater beach under evacuations as of two, three hours ago.y had a meeting this morning and decided these barrier islands need to clear out because of the intensity that idalia expected to be. maybe even a category four. we don't know yesterday. this is where boats are being shored up. neil, you remember hurricane ian. all the boats piled up in the aftermath. i want a quick question here with andrea. what's happening? >> we have 3, 500 pound anchors in the intracoastal waterway. wee getting them anchored up so we don't have boats here. >> be safe. neil, that's the deal. we're expecting seven feet of storm surge as it will brush this area. it is a fluid situation. someone's horn has now gone off, neil. we're in that situation. back to you. >> neil: i always appreciate hearing from you. robert ray in the middle of that. clearwater beach. let's go to michael estime. what are we looking at here? >> neil, good afternoon to you. soi'm going to tell you more about what we're expecting idalia. right now a powerful tropical storm. it is within four to

i'm literally in a neighborhood in north clearwater beach.ou can see the storm search that has inundated this particular pocket. that's been happening all day long. it all started predawn. take a look at some of this video what myself and crew were experiencing as the heavy bands from idalia came in not only kicking up the storm surge from the gulf of mexico in the inlets but creating rain and wind that forced all of this water in to the main streets and the neighborhoods. much of clearwater beach the water has receded. there's no water any monday in many neighborhoods. same with the main drag where the hotels were where we were reporting live on "fox and friends" and fox news and fox weather and fox business and all of our affiliates as well. here's the thing. as you know and i've been talking about, mandatory evacuations were underway. they had everybody out by 7:00 p.m. the police tell us indeed that is the case they feel. most people heeded the warnings. they got off of the barrier island and to higher ground. that is why they're not seei

sara sidner live in clearwater, florida. we will check back. boris. >> let's hear with a official in charge of services in the path, and david decarlo is there in tampa, and something that the governor pointed out the big bend area in the cone of uncertainty, and it does not often get storms of this magnitude, and i wonder what you are anticipating where you are. >> well, good morning and thank you, boris, for having us. joining us is the county administrator jeff rogers and the director of fire safety paul hoffst hoffstyler. we are expected 6 to 9 feet above ground level, and that is life-threatening and catastrophic storm surge. we are also worried about the strong winds and the tropical force winds that begin later this evening, and it could last a very long duration, so even after the storm makes landfall, there is a potential for the storm surge to continue into the hernando coast and from pasco county northward. >> we heard from a resident in the path of the storm, and she was a bit older and talking about the difficulty in trying to get

now, clearwater beach is part of pinellas county. this area is about two and a half miles long, there is a big, long beach that is right in front of us in this direction. it is very flat and that is important. what does that mean? it is flat and that ocean is shallow. you can walk about half a mile into it and the water might just be barely up to your waist. so that creates a conditions for storm surge. another key factor here that we have been talking about all day long, the gulf of mexico. the waters which this storm is traveling over right now are extremely warm. those warm waters are acting like gasoline for this hurricane. it is making a gain to strength and speed as it moves forward, and that motion as is directly in front of us, if it comes anywhere where we are right now, the expectation is that we could see anywhere from 4 to 7 feet of storm surge. a little over five feet tall, so any amount of water that is more than that is obviously going to be catastrophic and extremely damaging. now, people here for the most part have h

robert ray and the sunshine state to tea things out for us in clearwater. >> good afternoon from clearwatereach, the barrier island outside of tampa. you see behind me, look at the bridge and if there is a mandatory evacuation, a lot of people that's their way out to the mainland, pinellas county has been having meetings this morning, that's where were at that includes tampa as well deciding mandatory evacuations. we heard governor desantis say the barrier islands will be evacuated but we haven't gotten the mandatory word quite yet as the storm is churning and making its way out here, current track, making his way to the gulf of mexico. it is forward to come up 80 miles where i'm at right now to make landfall at some point in the middle of the night tuesday into wednesday very early morning and hit the big bend area north of here that's where the peninsula curves and goes into the panhandle. as we know in the storm involves it is not even a hurricane yet, it will be soon, there could be a wobble or jog just to the south and east of that happens. where were at right now is in deep trouble. a

where will that be, "fox weather" robert ray in clearwater beach florida with the very latest on thets, the window is closing for people to fly out of the region, 12:01 a.m., fewer than nine hours, tampa's main airport will see the commercial flights, what are you seeing on the ground? >> an afternoon received mandatory evacuations as i speak to you, look at this if you can this is the inlet that is clearwater, we are on clearwater beach take a look at the business this is a charter business, it is a bar in the restaurant they are packing up you see the u-haul they are moving all of the equipment in their because the storm surge is expected to be upwards of 7 7 feet. if that happens in this area unfortunately that is historical for modern times and we may see another scenario, god forbid like hurricane ian where boats are crashed up and businesses are destroyed that is why mandatory evacuation on the barrier islands right now and governor desantis and officials have been updating all of us for two days there is an army of personnel here and on their way. let's listen to what he told

we have carlos suarez in tampa and also meteorologist derek van dam is in clearwater keeping an eye onhings there. carlos, i'll start with you. tampa is already looking at potentially 4 to 7 feet of storm surge if idalia shifts in its track, obviously that could get a lot worse. what are you seeing there, what are people preparing for? >> reporter: well, we know there are two-man todayer to evacuation orders that have gone out here in hillsborough county which is home to the tampa bay area as well as out in pinellas county which is to the west of where we are, that is home to the clearwater st. pete area. as you mentioned, the concern in this part of hillsborough county, the downtown tampa area is the flooding associated with this hurricane. as you noted, we're talking about a storm surge anywhere between 4 to 7 feet and when you take a look at the bay here behind me, you can see it won't take a whole lot of water out here in order for some of the flooding to take place. this time tomorrow, we'll have taken into the account the rain which has already started to fall and as well as high

fox weather's robert ray in clearwater, florida. robert, what are the conditions like there now?zy here. thankfully, those rain bands and the outer bands of idalia are gone, obviously, as the landfall occurred. look at this, this is storm surge from the gulf of mexico that came in in earnest overnight, hours ago. three hours ago it was up to above my knees in some points. and, stuart, we just talked to clearwater police here on the ground as they are driving a around the a humvee assessing all of the surge and potential damage. and if there's good news out of the aftermath of a category four hurricane, which is what it was before landfall and then it turned into a cat three, is that we are told by them that most people got out of here. they followed the mandatory evacuation orders that were in place yesterday, and they are not in their homes and other areas. so right now there's no reportable injuries here. that's incredible. so far no major structural damage, also great. many of the businesses here seem to be okay. can and even though the surge came in, many of them did the not

now sara arrived just a few hours ago in clearwater, florida. sar ra sara, what have you been seeing since you've been on the ground? >> we've been seeing people leaving because they have been warned this is going to get ready nasty, really quickly. we're talking about a major storm surge as well as high winds. there are now 14 counties that have been told to evacuate. those are mandatory evacuations for people 32 school districts are closing down. people are warning authorities here warning in pinellas county in particular to make sure you make your plan now and leave soon as this storm approaches because it will likely not stay as a category 1. we're expecting it to grow as it hits that very warm water which fuels this storm. there is also always the potential of tornadic activity as well. there are plenty of places people can go. but right now they're saying, look, get out of these zones where the storm surge could be dangerously high. let's bring in derek van dam standing right next to me. we're standing in -- this is the confusing thing for

comenzamos con rogelio mora-tagle en clearwater cerca de tampa, la ciudad mÁs poblada en la regiÓn en. >> buenas tardes, son las horas previa a la llegada de este huracÁn, como puedes ver todavÍa hay gente en esta zona, y hay que mencionar que es una zona de evacuaciÓn y todavÍa hay personas haciendo surf en la playa. todavÍa hay mucha gente que no ha cumplido con la orden de evacuaciÓn. idalia viene por ese lado y va para allÁ arriba donde te encuentras tÚ. el gobernado ha extendido la alerta de emergencia por 29 condados.r alerta de emergencia por 29 condados. >> (musica). 9 condados. >> (musica). 49 condados. >> (musica). >> idalia avanza lenta y amenazante por el golfo de la florida, el aÑo pasado se sintÓo el golpe de ian y hoy se experimenta el castigo mÁs leve de italia. asÍ se ve la tormenta desde la estaciÓn espacial internacional, el Área de la bahÍa de tampa parece estar a salvo de un impacto directo, pero se prevea que la marejada ciclÓnica llegue a un nivel de siete pies. >> en efecto, es una lecciÓn que aprendimos con el huracÁn ian entendÍan que el agua iba a entrar a s

i want to bring in cnn's gloria pazmino who has been covering this storm from clearwater florida. can see the winds moving up behind you. give us a sense of what you are seeing right now where you are. >> omar, i have to tell you that it is literally a minute by minute changes you. about five minutes ago the rain had slightly lit up but as you can see now it is coming down in sheets. the wind is whipping around. the trees behind me. seattle their roast him. since the fall. a lot of water moving in this storm. hurricane is continuing to gather strength and speed as it moves towards the coast of florida. conditions will worsen why they are. mandatory evacuation zone for the area. oh, my i want to give you a lay of the land here. directly in front of us. half mile before you get to the water. pitch dark where we are showing you. it's inland. where people were headed in. many lives in the area. so the comfortable doing so. i weigh from the ocean. storm surge overnight. the storm continues to move in the storm surge comes in. that is where we may see a lot of the damage. also the loss

we are in clearwater beach in the rain has stopped as you can see. but the wind significantly increasing the last few minutes. so the rain has let up. we are feeling the force of that wind just sweeping through the area now as you said, the hurricane now officially a category three. we are expecting that to be come a category four hurricane by the time that it makes landfall in the early hours of the wednesday morning. conditions here are changing really minute to minute. it was raining hard about an hour ago. when we last spoke to a stop now. it's very windy. storm surge is going to be the primary thing that we are watching for. expecting to see anywhere from 47 feet of storm surge. coming in. that's going to be catastrophic for the area. a large amount of water. dangerous levels of water. as a result the area has been put under a mandatory evacuation order. not everyone has heeded the waters. i've spoken people who are local, telling me they would ride this out. just writing it out. hoping for the best, but as we've heard from the governor, he beli

but we see wind reports here out of clearwater, st. pete, tampa, naples, cedar key. they're 45 to about 60 miles per hour. that doesn't really speak of the whole story. it's the storm surge, deadly. the number one deadly aspect of a hurricane, a category 4 with a storm surge of 8 feet, 10 feet, 12, 15 is unimaginable. this should probably make landfall probably around 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning. my colleague, meteorologist allison chinchar will be here at the top of the hour to continue to update you throughout the day. here we go. and then by wednesday evening, could it still possibly be at hurricane strength in south georgia, or right along the border with south carolina and georgia? certainly it can. and the projection is that it will. under a state of emergency, north carolina, south carolina, georgia and florida. as you can well imagine there could be severe flooding in the low-lying areas. it's all low-lying areas. i've checked the elevation of a number of cities. we go through time, and here we see some of those bands still moving onis for for tampa. still af

this is a live in an area called clearwater. bongo calls for help any new video message. i bongo calls for help any new video messa . e. . bongo calls for help any new video messaue. . ., , ., ., message. i am to send a message to all the friends _ message. i am to send a message to all the friends that _ message. i am to send a message to all the friends that we _ message. i am to send a message to all the friends that we have - message. i am to send a message to all the friends that we have all - all the friends that we have all over the world to tell them to make noise, to make noise, for the people here have arrested me. find noise, to make noise, for the people here have arrested me.— here have arrested me. and the rare sectacle here have arrested me. and the rare spectacle set — here have arrested me. and the rare spectacle set to _ here have arrested me. and the rare spectacle set to light _ here have arrested me. and the rare spectacle set to light up _ here have arrested me. and the rare spectacle set to light up the - h

we have spoken to the mayor of clearwater, the sheriff of st. petersburg, we have talked to the head of the faa, all of them speaking with one voice. if you are in a mandatory evacuation area, get out now. safe your life, worry about your stuff later. it looks like nothing is happening. there's more wind that we have noticed come upon us from the seaside, but this is going to change. and when it changes, if you are not already out of harm's way, you may not be able to get out of harm's way. especially because, yes, this is going to be a strong wind event, but as you just heard derek say, this is really about the storm surge. that's where the dangero to lif is. that's where the danger for structures are. when that surge happens, it's not as if it's a slow trickle. it's a rush and it's coming at you fast and furious. it's just not something that you want to mess around with. we heard from governor desantis. he added 49 counties that are all under an emergency order at this point in time. and he did mention something that is particularly interestin

cnn correspondent gloria pazmino is in clearwater, just west of tampa for us. starting to see, i can see in your shot some rain, wind, what does that feel like as the storm gets closer? >> well, abby, we have been here all day so far and i can certainly tell you that this is the worst expanses we have been out here. the winds are steadily increasing, if the rain is heavy, and it goes in and out. you can tell that there are these outer bands of the hurricane that are starting to arrive here in the area of clearwater beach, where we are. earlier in your program chad myers was talking about parts of the state where people still have time to get out because it hasn't started raining yet. it is definitely raining here. now we are in pinellas county and this is a mandatory evacuation's own, but i spoke to a man earlier who told me that he had no plans to evacuate. he is going to ride out the storm right here in town. part of the reason for that, he told me, is that he lived inland about five miles in this direction. the water is that way, in the pitch darkness, but t

pete and clearwater.u mentioned, john, the concern going in to tomorrow is that we are going to see flooding associated with this storm. we're talking about a storm surge anywhere between 4 to 6 and 7 feet. so going into tonight, the concern from emergency officials are for the folks that live in these low-lying areas. they want them to get to higher ground. they want them to get inland. right now we're told that a number of hurricane shelters are open across pinellas and hillsborough county. we are experiencing low tide at this hour. but come this time tomorrow, of course, things are going to change. we're expecting to see a lot more rainfall over the next couple of hours as this storm continues to make its way north. it of course is going to push all of that water into the tampa bay area, and then of course all of that at some point is going to mix in with high tide. and so you can understand, you can appreciate why emergency officials are worried that folks right now are still deciding whether or not t

the record here at clearwater beach is a 4-foot surge and that wasn't even with a hurricane that was with a nor'easter back in 1993 when it pounded it with snow in the wintertime. this could rival that. also the record for the tampa bay, ian you used to work here we know four feet, we could probably see that as it funnels in here. you think about what a storm surge is, if you blow in your cup of water it creates the ripples, that's like a mini storm surge, now put that on a global scale, the wind blowing right over the water channelling it into the tampa bay area, and it's not going to let it loose until that wind shifts around and says, go right back out again. that could be a long period of time. because the way this storm is coming in parallel to the beach, we could see that thing with the southwest winds for at least 12-16, maybe 18 hours. that would keep that water elevated, for sure. and here we are. this is the strongest rain band that we have seen so far today, it's the biggest one, the fattest rain drops and, yeah, nothing water proof when you have 45 mile per hour winds. ia

surge impact which have been the number one concern all throughout the tampa bay area, including clearwater and st. pete beach. we are seeing similar dangerous situations. you are talking about three feets, i take a step into higher ground, which is good, we need to make sure not to step into the road, we are not sure how deep that water is and strength of the waves is evident. a couple inches of water can move a car, we are looking at three feet of this road alone, it goes for miles in either direction. police officers are driving up and down and there are people trying to move in this. it is so incredibly dangerous when talking about water rising and moving at a scary fast rate. >> you mentioned you spoke with law enforcement officers, i know they have seen bayshore flood a dozen times, but breaking waves on bayshore is different set of circumstances. what did they say about what they are seeing, i imagine a contrast going back to ian last year and irma, when water emptied out of the bay. >> nicole: i asked them, they have been here throughout several storms and it was shock on their face

we're just in front of the clearwater harbor. so this is not the gulf. we are on the other side of that. just over the bridge. and this is still where we are seeing the waters reaching. coming up about four feet higher than normal still at this hour. hey, rebecca, you've been there a couple of days now and i've been through those kinds of storms, too. how intense were the rains and the winds? and you just describe in your personal explanation of what it was like . yeah. so we did have some pretty intense rain bands earlier this morning. but one of the good things about hurricanes is you typically don't have consistent downpour, nonstop rain. you do get those breaks as the hurricane bands move through the area. so we are going to expect it to kick up a little bit here throughout the morning. but thankful for that break. like i mentioned, wind speeds, i mean, pretty, pretty high winds. the airport just down the road clocking them at about 60mph. but where that hurricane made landfall closer to 130. so not as intense where we are, but still feeling pretty s

but way before then areas around clearwater, st. pete, tampa, coral gables, ft. myers, you are all looking at that potential for storm surge. even though it is out in the gulf of mexico, it will still have enough energy to push the water up on shore. low lying areas, they will be inundated with some of the water. take higher ground. seek shelter. make plans. if you need medications, provisions for some older adults or neighbors or your children, make those plans now because this is edging on a little bit too late now to make those kinds of arrangements. but nonetheless it will still be impactful throughout the day on tis as it gathers strength. and next 24 hours, we'll see that by wednesday morning, programs we will be a category 3. it had been a little bit later in the day. but we think perhaps landfall will be about midday on wednesday. maybe around the big bend area there. which is very sparsely populated. a lot of wildlife management areas, a lot of recreational activity that would take place there. there are still communities, but the big populations are rig

we went to a place called clearwater beach.hat is peninsula surrounded by you've got the gulf of mexico on one side, the tampa bay the other side. whole thing mawdatory evacuation zone "a." we saw so many people on the beach. we saw people ongoing for a swim. they weren't bothered. i'm a floridian, i get it. i think authorities get nervous about that because if something changes like what we saw with ian, then you have a sudden shift and then people are stranded and stuck and it's too late to help them in some cases. so that's of course a big concern. i went up to an officer in clearwater beach and i said out of curiosity when you see people that are in these areas, these mandatory evacuation areas what do you do, is this enforceable? and he says, no, this schbt something we can force people to do match at least that's in clear water. i can't speak for every jurisdiction. he said the reason they have that mandatory evacuation order is to say we tried to get people out but ultimately that is their choice. one thing i did notice

meteorologist derek van dam is live in clearwater for us. he leads off the coverage. derek, what are you seeing? >> yeah, boris. it is the calm before the storm, right. but the latest information that we can pass on to the viewers is that idalia is strengthening with 85-mile-an-hour sustained winds and lashing the southern portions of florida already. you saw the live view, and we will take et again from key west, and this is the indication of 50 miles per hour winds look like. that the outer band, and remember, the center of the storm now gusting over 100 miles per hour, and the official track is calling for a category 3 making landfall along the big bend, but the winds are going to be 125 miles per hour, and that is just shy of a category 4 hurricane. so we are anticipating and so does the national hurricane center, continued rapid strengthening, and it is a concern, and it is all because of the warm waters that we have behind usment storm surge, and we talk about it frequently, and the water here is literally, well, it is like a hot tub. it is not bathtub anymore,

clearwater beach, mandatory evacuations in place right now.here at the gulf of mexico. there are still people trying to get their last moments of paradise here. there's surfers there. in the distance, what you might see are the outer bands. we just got the first squalls that came in. this storm is well south of off, off of naples and fort myers area. this will make its way up here, expected to be a category three storm as it will make landfall on the big bend sometimes very early tomorrow morning. this is going to get rocking soon. it will be a hostile environment here on this beach. it's mandatory evacs. local officials say get out of the flood zones. many people are moving to an area to get away from the storm surge. where i'm standing right now could be up to seven feet of storm surge pushing in from the gulf of mexico over walls like this, in to parking lots and on to roads. it will get dangerous overnight very soon, this will be a hostile environment in the coming hours. many folks need to get off of this barrier island by sunset, trace.

bob is tracking it all and is live from clearwater beach, florida.bob. >> clearwater beach is under a hurricane warning. a storm surge morning. expecting a six-foot wall of water to come slamming in here shortly. it's already high tide with a super moon which makes it even bigger. the storm will be the main story as it rolls passed us overnight tonight and then bangs into the big bend area of florida. we are talking about cedar key, stein haji, yankee town. that area could see a storm surge like no one has ever seen and that region. we are talking 12 or 16-foot storm surge as it rolls in overnight tonight through tomorrow morning. the storm is so strong with 30 miles per hour winds when it makes landfall. it will hold together with all that momentum and blast through lower georgia as a hurricane into the carolinas by wednesday evening and thursday. still holding onto the tropical storm strength. we are talking about a major storm that has turned into a monster. it will not slow down until it reaches land. that is not until tomorrow morning. >> bob, t

all right, brian is the mayor of clear clearwater and joining us now.rs beach and got to be worried about that happening again. >> absolutelyment that's why everyone has to be ready and leave the low lying areas now, don't wait. get out there before the traffic gets heavy and talking about evacuation, don't have to evacuate out of state, don't have to evacuate hundreds of miles, 10 miles, 15 miles. get to a friend's house, a hotel or shelter or pet friendly hotels and shelters. get to higher ground and ride out the storm. the worst we're going to have here as everyone has been saying is going to be a storm submersible. that's going to be probably peaking about 2:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon, 4-7 feet of storm surge on our pi pinellas county, clear water beach. stuart: the schools are closed and the airport is closing this afternoon. are you now formally telling people or encouraging them to evacuate as opposed to telling them to get out? >> absolutely. that started at 7:00 p.m. last night a mandatory evacuation from level a areas across the tampa bay area

water into tampa bay and clearwater beach, so make sure you stay away from the water. the governor has a lot of contingencies to deal with the aftermath of the hurricane when it blows through, but immediately the task is to get out of the way of it. >> sandra: right now it is lashing cuba, a lot of flooding is happening, we are watching the storm's path. we'll continue to bring updates as we get them. a live look at the white house where the president is set to speak any moment now we are told on healthcare costs, and his plans to allow medicare for drug prices. a key part of the 2024 pitch to voters. but drug companies are already fighting back in court. also waiting on a pentagon briefing to start any moment now, $250 million weapons package to ukraine as americans are divided over the funding of that war. we'll keep an eye on all of that for you. but first, breaking news from our southern border. >> john: federal authorities are investigating a group of foreign nationals who crossed the border with help from an isis-linked human smuggler. points to new intelligence

fox weather correspondent robert ray in cl clearwater florida wih the latest.rrow at this time you look at this, the gulf of mexico here and the beaches of clearwater beach will likely be under water because of storm surge, up to seven feet expected as idalia is strengthening. take a look at this radar of idalia, down near cuba right now, a category 1, expected to continue to rise up to a category 3. we just don't know, maybe even a category 4 by the time it hugs the gulf coast where i'm at and makes landfall at some point tomorrow morning. residents have been preparing. let's hear what they've been doing. >> it's better to be prepared versus not prepared and have regrets. >> people have been back and forth, hauling trash, hauling boats, getting everything put away the best they can, hoping and praying for the best. >> hoping for the best. you know, we do this each time, we leave every time. this one looks like it's a biggie. >> reporter: it does look like a biggie. people are breaking out sandbags. mandatory evacuations are in place on barrier eye hands and lo

fox weather correspondent robert ray is in clearwater, florida with the very latest. robert? >> yeah. good morning to you. you wouldn't know a hurricane is on its way here on the gulf coast this morning. but it is. idalia tracking up. it's a cat 1 right now. and residents are on edge and preparing. listen. >> it's better to be prepared versus not prepared and have regrets. >> since i have been up this morning, people have been back and forth hauling trash, hauling boats. getting everything put away the best they can. hoping and praying for the best. >> hoping for the best. you know, we do this each time that we leave every single time. this one looks like a biggie. >> mandatory evacuations in flood zones like where i'm at in the barrier islands and lower level geography pockets. people are preparing. sandbags are out. they are boarding up businesses and getting ready. they have until about later this evening to get out of these areas. we have already seen damage in cuba as idalia has spun its way up. now a category 1. and increasing. governor ron desantis has been updating th

tool to keep everyone separate from each other. >> do you feel a little bit like the creedence clearwaterelt like they had a resignation of the working class? >> hopefully it represents more than the working class. hopefully it represents -- there are people dealing with depression and anxiety. this is something that has touched people globally and there's a reason for that. it's not just for one identity or one group of people. it's a song for human beings in general. you are cool to. >> oliver anthony and his old resonator guitar. the songs are amazing and you should go listen to other songs as well. he has the same message for giving hope to those struggling peer politicians may want to take note. we saw at least one. all of president 2024 signs. >> i saw murch. he's making some money now. he has some merchandise with his name on it. speak of the concert was free and he was selling some merchandise. the guy running the merchandise is his next-door neighbor. this is a very small organic operation and as you heard in the story about the song, writing the second half the day that he filme

you know, like tampa, orlando, where we are outside clearwater.o we just got the outside impacts of the storm. and rebecca, we know that after the storm, a lot of people can potentially be injured from debris that's scattered around in those small areas that you mentioned a moment ago. but is there any concern about the ocean flooding into those smaller communities where the storm hit? because it is pretty windy where you are? right now? yes, there is. and that is why people are saying the threat is not over. we're having some rain right now. but for the last hour, it's been pretty clear. so we know that, you know, once the storm passes, people think it's safe to go outside, start taking those pictures and videos, maybe even check out their home. if they evacuated. still too early to do that. i wouldn't recommend people start doing that until tomorrow. all right. rebecca castro reporting for us live in bellaire, florida, where the storm made landfall a few hours ago. rebecca, thank you. stay safe out there and stay with ktvu mornings on two and kt