September 26, 2022 Florida braces for Hurricane Ian | CNN (2024)

At least threecruiselines withships sailing this week are rerouting passengers due to Hurricane Ian.

NorwegianCruiseLineshas changed five ports on the Norwegian Sky which left Miami on Sunday, thecruiseline told CNN.Theshipwas scheduled to port in George Town, Grand Cayman, Roatan, Honduras, Harvest Caye, Belize and Cozumel and will now make stops in San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, Tortola, British Virgin Islands and Nassau, Bahamas, to avoid the path of Ian.

A spokesperson for the cruise line said guests who booked excursions in any of the affected ports will get a refund to their “onboard account.”

MSChas changed course on at least one of itsships and is weighing the possibility of changing others, a spokesperson tells CNN. The MSC Seashore, which was originally scheduled to be in the Western Caribbean, has been rerouted to ports in the Eastern Caribbean, the company said.

Thecruiseline is also monitoring the MSC Divinia which left Port Canaveral on a 4-night sailing to Nassau and the Ocean City Marine Reserve on Sunday. MSC says bothcruiseports are outside of Ian’s projected path but advised passengers before leaving that conditions could prevent theshipfrom returning on Thursday. Thecruiseline says if there is a delay in their return, thecruisewill be extended at no additional cost to guests.

Thecruiseline does not expect Ian to impact the MSC Seashore, which is set to depart from the Port of Miami on Saturday, Oct. 1.

CarnivalCruiseLineshas made adjustments to two of its sailings.

Carnival Ecstasy, which departed from Mobile, Alabama, today for a 6-day sailing will visit Progresso Mexico on Wednesday before going to Cozumel on Thursday. The change re-orders the visits, as theshipwas scheduled to visit Cozumel first, thecruiseline tells CNN.

Carnival Glory left New Orleans on Sunday for an 8-day sailing, and will now port in Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Belize and Cozumel, Mexico. Theship’s original itinerary was to visit Key West as well as Freeport and Nassau, Bahamas.

Tampa Bay International Airport will suspend operations Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a statement.

In an earlier statement, the airport said it was monitoring Hurricane Ian and would cease operations at 50 mph sustained winds. Earlier today, St. Pete/Clearwater International Airport announced it would close at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

The Port of Tampa Bay is also planning to suspend operations at 8 a.m. ET on Tuesday, DeSantis said.

Other airports in Florida are continuing to monitor Hurricane Ian, but have not announced closures.

CNN has reached out to Tampa Bay International Airport and the Tampa Bay mayor’s office for more information.

Waves under a dark sky along the shore of Batabano, Cuba, on Monday.

At least 19,283 people have been evacuated from their homes in the western Cuban province of Pinar del Río as Hurricane Ian strengthens, according to state news channel TelePinar.

Among the evacuees, 18,042 have sought refuge with family and friends, the report stated. Officials estimate another 50,000 residents will need to evacuate the province as the hurricane moves north.

The forecast: The latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center predicts conditions in western Cuba will deteriorate through the night, with “significant wind and storm surge impacts expected.”

Forecasts say Ian will likely be a Category 3 with winds of 120 mph or greater when it moves over Cuba on Tuesday morning.

NASA tweeted out video of what Hurricane Ian looks like for the International Space Station.

View the video, here:

Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management

Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, is urging people to “heed the evacuation warning” as Hurricane Ian gets closer to the coast.

Guthrie told CNN that the biggest concern is that people do not follow orders to leave, adding that Floridians should expect more evacuations on Tuesday.

Guthrie said this is especially a concern in Pinellas County where there are many manufactured homes, RVs and trailers.

According to Guthrie, the Department of Transportation would most likely turn on theemergency shoulder useauthorization allowing for people to use the shoulders at slower speeds in order to help the congestion of those trying to get out of some areas.

The HCA Florida Pasadena Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, is closing ahead of Ian.

According to HCA Florida PasadenaHospital’s website, the facility is a 307-bed hospital, has 530 employees, 115 physicians and at least 39,076 patients have been treated.

St. Petersburg is about 17 miles from Tampa.

Chevron Corp has begun moving workers to safety and halting productionat offshore production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico,the company said in a statement.

According to the statement,“production at our other Chevron-operated Gulf of Mexico assets remains at normal levels.Chevron will continue to closely monitor the storm and remains focused on the safety of our workforce, the integrity of our facilities and the protection of the environment.”

“Both offshore and onshore, Chevron is following our storm plans and paying close attention to the forecast and track of Hurricane Ian,” the company stated.

Florida Residents prepare for the possible arrival of Hurricane Ian on Monday.

Khadijah Jones was in line for three hours on Monday to get free sandbags that the city of Tampa was handing out to residents ahead of Hurricane Ian.

Jones told CNN she is planning on staying at her home during the storm.

She said she isn’t sure if her home will flood since it was her first hurricane in the home she lives in. She said she will share the 10 sandbags with her neighbor as well.

This isn’t her first hurricane experience. She said she lived through Hurricane Isabel in Virginia and Hurricane Irma in Florida.

The City of Sanibel, Florida, declared a state of emergency during a special city council meeting Monday evening as Hurricane Ian churns toward the west coast of Florida.

Sanibel is located on Sanibel Island — just south of Fort Myers — in Lee County.

A voluntary evacuation has also been issued for the City of Sanibel, council members said.

Meanwhile, Lee County also declared a state of emergency Monday, according to an afternoon press conference.

Lee County officials will decide Tuesday morning whether a mandatory evacuation will be issued, City of Sanibel members said.

Florida Power and Light has activated its emergency response plan mobilizing 13,000 personnel in preparation for Hurricane Ian, the company said in a statement on Monday.

“As this storm approaches Florida, we know our customers are counting on us and we are determined to meet this challenge,” Eric Silagy, chairman and CEO of FPL said in the statement. “We are mobilizing and pre-positioning our restoration workforce, so these brave men and women can quickly start working as soon as it is safe to do so.”

The statement said the company has more than 13,000 people making sure they are ready to respond “regardless of Ian’s final path.”

“We’re urging customers to finalize their preparations and make safety their top priority,” the statement said.

The path for the increasingly dangerous Hurricane Ian nudges it a little further eastward as the storm is forecast to move very slowly past Tampa and St. Petersburg, Florida.

The center of the storm tracks within 10 miles of the St. Petersburg coastline, near Clearwater, while also slowing the storm down to a walking pace between 3 and 4 mph on Thursday as it makes its closest pass.

Additional hurricane warnings have also been added in Florida.

Thehurricanewatch from Englewood to the Anclote River, including Tampa Bay, has been upgraded to ahurricanewarning, according to the latest advisory from the NationalHurricaneCenter.

“Ahurricanewarning means thathurricaneconditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, in this case, within 24 to 36 hours,” thehurricanecenter said.

Hurricanewarnings are also in effect for the Cuban provinces of Isla de Juventud, Pinar del Rio, and Artemisa.

A satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Ian moving toward western Cuba, on Monday at 1:30 p.m. ET.

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Hurricane Ian has reached maximum sustained winds up to 100 mph on Monday, making it a Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

The center of the storm is located just over 150 miles southeast of the western tip of Cuba as it moves north-northwest.

Conditions in western Cuba are expected to deteriorate through the night, with “significant wind and storm surge impacts expected,” the hurricane center said.Forecasts say Ian will likely be a Category 3 with winds of 120 mph or greater when it moves over Cuba on Tuesday morning.

“Storm surge could raise water levels by as much as 9 to 14 feet above normal tide levels along the coast of western Cuba in areas of onshore winds in the hurricane warning area tonight and early Tuesday,” the hurricane center said.

Additionally, a storm surge warning has been added for portions of western Florida with 5 to 10 feet of surge possible, according to the latest advisory. The warning stretches from Anclote River southward to Flamingo, including Tampa Bay.

“The combination of storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline,” it added.

St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport announced that it will close operations starting at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday as Hurricane Ian heads toward Florida.

In August, the airport saw a record-breaking 193,073 passengers and serves 65 non-stop destinations, according to its website.

Other Florida airports are continuing to monitor Ian, but have yet to announce closures.

Several Florida counties have started to evacuate residents ahead of Hurricane Ian.

Throughout the day on Monday, officials around the state made it clear that the situation was evolving and urged residents to prepare to evacuate if necessary.

Here’s a look at where things stand with evacuation orders around Florida as of Monday afternoon:

People helps pull small boats out of Havana Bay on September 26.

For the most part, life in the Cuban capital of Havana was normal on Monday — even as the sky began to darken and winds slowly picked up.

Store shelves are already empty and there’s no ability to load up on supplies as Cuba is in the midst of an economic crisis. Plywood is impossible to find and only a few people are able to board up their homes.Like most people in the Caribbean, Cubans are used to hurricanes and know that the only option is to ride out a storm and all the difficulties that come with them.

Cargo ships have been seen leaving the port of Havana all day. Ships typically leave ahead of a big storm because if they break loose, they could cause damage to the port and the ships themselves.

People who live on small islands off the coast of southern Cuba were being ferried into the mainland ahead of the storm, according to Cuban state TV.

Ian is expected to slam into the western province of Pinar del Rio, where tobacco for the country’s famed cigars is grown.

But in Havana, about 115 miles away from the city of Pinar del Rio, even tropical force winds and rains can cause flooding and aging buildings to come crashing down.

For residents in the Tampa Bay area, “it’s time to stop looking on the internet and hoping that it’ll go away. It’s time to start acting,” Jamie Rhome,the National HurricaneCenter acting director, tells CNN.

The current forecast track for Hurricane Ian puts all of the Tampa Bay region on the right side of the storm, which would see winds push water northward into Tampa Bay, maximizing the inundation from storm surge. The current storm surge forecast for this area is up to 10 feet.

If this storm track and intensity materializes, he warns residents that “this is a near worst case approach angle coming in from the south and west and stalling,” Rhome said. “With it slowing down, this would be a near worst case approach angle.”

The forward speed of the storm as it passes Tampa on Wednesday into Thursday is less than 5 mph — about 1/3 of the current forward speed of Ian. This slow speed, in combination with the intensity of the storm could be devastating for this region.

“We’re at the action phase. We’re no longer at the ponder phase or think about it phase or hope it goes away phase. We’re at the action phase,” said Rhome.

Ian is projected to be the closest pass to Tampa Bay for a majorhurricanesince 1950. The current track puts the center of Ian passing within 25 miles west of the coastline as it parallels the coast.

Rain showers and thunderstorms from “the outermost rainbands of Hurricane Ian” have started to move through Key West, the National Weather Service tweeted Monday.

“Conditions will continue to deteriorate from here on,” the tweet added.

See the tweet:

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor held a press conference on Monday afternoon to address the city’s preparedness for Hurricane Ian.

Castor talked about the possible dangers of storm surges, saying “we are looking at the possibility of having a 10-to-15-foot storm surge.”

“Clearly, that would be very devastating for our community,” said Castor.

Castor advised residents to heed the warnings and not “make decisions at the last minute.”

“Right now, the prediction is we are going to be impacted by Hurricane Ian,” added Castor.

Earlier in the day, evacuation orders were announced for parts ofHillsboroughandPinellas Counties.Castor said 49 shelters are open, including some accepting pets and othersaccommodatingresidents with special needs.

“The city of Tampa is prepared, and we want to make sure that all of our citizens are prepared,” said Castor.

Castor advised the public to stay informed by signing up for update alerts as “things can change minute by minute.”

On Monday, the City of Tampa’s Citizen Information Line was activated to help residents with “urgent questions regarding the storm.” Residents can call the center for immediate assistance until 8 p.m. ET on Monday, and every other day from 8 a.m. ET until midnight until further notice.

“This is going to be a storm like we have never seen in the past,” said Castor, adding, “I want everyone to understand the seriousness of this situation.”

Florida’s Pinellas County has announced a mandatory evacuation order for some of its residents beginning today at 6 p.m. ET.

It added that all residential health care facilities in Pinellas County will be under mandatory evacuation orders starting today as well.

The county said that mandatory orders for evacuation zones B and C will be “effective tomorrow morning at 7 a.m.”

See the evacuation zone map here:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read more about this here.

Hurricane Ian is projected to makethe closest pass to Tampa Bay by a major hurricane since 1950.

The current track puts the center of Ian passing within 25 miles west of the coastline as it parallels the coast along Tampa Bay. This track puts all of the Tampa Bay region (i.e. Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Bradenton) on the right side of the storm, which would push water into Tampa Bay, maximizing the inundation from storm surge.

Theforward speed of the storm as it passes Tampa on Wednesday into Thursday is less than 5 mph— about 1/3 of the current forward speed of Ian. This allows more water to pile up from the continued push of the wind into the Bay and other coastal locations. It also prolongs the impacts of wind and rain.

Thepopulation facing the likelihood of at least tropical storm-force winds is more than 15 million, which includes all of the Tampa metro area, as well as other cities such as Orlando, Tallahassee and Jacksonville.

Ian has already undergone official rapid intensification— at least a 35 mph increase in winds in 24 hours. The storm is expected to continue further strengthening over the next 24+ hours.

National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasters have confidence in the potential for Ian’s explosive growth.

The NHC forecast for Ian has shown an unprecedented rate of strengthening from a tropical storm to a powerful hurricanewith winds increasing faster thanin any previous forecastproduced for any other tropical storm.

It’s 2 p.m. ET and Hillsborough County’s mandatory evacuations are now in effect as the Tampa Bay area braces for Hurricane Ian.

Earlier today Hillsborough County Administrator Bonnie Wise announced zone A would be put under mandatory evacuation orders starting at 2 p.m. ET today. In the map below, the red area is zone A.

Wise also said voluntary evacuations are recommended for zone B, the orange area on the map.

Ianis currently barreling toward western Cuba, bringing potentially life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds. Meteorologists expect Ian to peak at Category 4 strength over the Gulf of Mexico later this week, then weaken before reaching Florida.

The University of Tampa will be closed for a week beginning Monday,the school announcedSunday.

Stetson Law,Florida’s first law school, will close its Gulfport and Tampa Law Center campuses Tuesday through Thursday,according to a tweet Monday afternoon.

Saint Leo University, a small private university inPasco County, has made the decision to move to online classes from Monday through Friday,said school officials.

On Sunday, University of South Florida (USF) officials announced the campus will close Tuesday and classes will be canceled Monday through Thursday due toTropical Storm Ian’s potential impacts to the Tampa Bay region.

“The path of the storm remains highly unpredictable and could change in the coming days. That said, the safety of our students, faculty and staff is our highest priority as we track the storm,” saida weather update from university officials.

Citrus County Schools, north of Tampa and St. Petersburg on Florida’s west coast,will close Wednesday and Thursday ahead of Hurricane Ian, district officials announced Monday.

District officials are working closely with the Citrus County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to prepare for the potential impacts of Hurricane Ian, according to a press release from the school.

“Many factors are considered when EOC activates shelters, and our school district plays a vital role in the EOC’s response,” said Citrus County Schoolofficials.

Catholic schools in the Tampa area also announced closures ahead of Ian.

“Based on the latest forecast, Catholic schools in the Diocese of St. Petersburg will be closed from Tuesday through Thursday,according to the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg.”This includes Catholic schools in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, and Citrus Counties,” said a storm update from the diocese.

Other schools scheduled to close Tuesday and WednesdayincludePinellas County,Pasco County,Manatee County andHernando Schools.

Hillsborough County schools are closes beginning today, CNN has reported.

Tampa International Airport (TPA) remains operational and is making preparations for Hurricane Ian, according to anews releasefrom TPA.

In the next 24 to 48 hours, TPA might begin shutting down facilities and its airfield as the weather becomes more severe and wind speeds increase, officials said.

At 40 mph sustained winds, SkyConnect and airside shuttles with stop or reduce and airport operations will stop at 50 mph sustained winds, the release said.

Two preseason Tampa Bay Lightning games have been postponed as the Tampa Bay area braces for Hurricane Ian.

Wednesday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes and Thursday’s game against the Nashville Predators have both been postponed. They were scheduled to be played at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa.

The Florida National Guard has activated 5,000 Florida soldiers and 2,000 additional soldiers from Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina in preparation for Hurricane Ian,Gov. Ron DeSantisannounced Monday during a news conferenceat the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee.

The 7,000 guardsmen is an increase from the 2,500 activated and announced by DeSantis on Sunday.

As of Monday, the storm is located approximately 375 miles south of Key West and has a diameter of 500 miles wide. It’s moving northwesttowards the Gulf of Mexico at about 14 mph with maximum sustained winds of up to 80 mph, DeSantis said.

Jim Eifert, the head of Florida’s National Guard, said they are “fully engaged with every resource available,” and have also been in contact with Kentucky and Louisiana to provide additional resources.

DeSantis warned of the impact Hurricane Ian is anticipated to bring on Florida’s Gulf Coast, including heavy rain, strong wind, flash flooding and storm surge, telling Gulf Coast residents they should feel the impact of the storm up to 36 hours before landfall.

In addition to the 7,000 soldiers activated by the National Guard, five FEMA Urban Search and Rescue teams havealso been activated and theFish and Wildlife Commission has been mobilized, DeSantis said, adding that 210 medicalprofessionals have been assigned to Hillsborough County’s special needs shelters and300 ambulances have been assigned to support special needs evacuations in the Tampa Bay area.

Gov. DeSantis is scheduled to hold another news conference in Largo, Florida, this afternoon at 2 p.m. ET.

Out of an abundance of caution, Sarasota County Schools will close on Tuesday, according to a message on the district’swebsite.

The closing will also allow schools that serve as emergency evacuation centers time to get prepared, the message added.

The message said the county is expected to announce an evacuation alert for Level A Tuesday morning.

Acting director of NOAA’s National Hurricane Center Jamie Rhome speaks at a press conference on Monday.

Several evacuations have already been issued for Florida cities and counties in the potential path of Hurricane Ian,and more orders will be issued“maybe later today,” saidacting director of NOAA’s National Hurricane Center (NHC) Jamie Rhome.

“We now need people to start taking action,” said Rhome at a joint press briefing Monday withFederal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).“So many times, we see people secondguess … evacuationinstructions,and it often will cost them dearly.”

There are two concerns for the Tampa Bay area, which is forecast to experience storm impacts Tuesday and Wednesday,according to Rhome.

“We’re indicating the potential for as much as is 10 feet of storm surge in portions of the Florida west coast,” he said, pointing to a pole to show the potential height of the surge.

A man helps pull small boats out of Havana Bay in Havana on Monday.

Cuba’s civil defense forces issued a hurricane warning on Monday for six of the country’s 15 provinces, and the special municipality of the Isla de la Juventud, ahead of Hurricane Ian’s anticipated arrival.

The provinces of Pinar del Rio, Artemisa, Havana, Mayabeque, Matanzas, Cienfuegos and the special municipality were named in the statement from civil defense officials.

Sancti Spiritus and Ciego de Avila, provinces to the east of the projected storm path, have been placed on a hurricane watch.

Local residents have been told to stay informed of the storm’s trajectory and to comply with instructions from local authorities and emergency services.

Hurricane Ian is expected to build in intensity before making landfall on the western side of Cuba around 2 a.m. ET on Tuesday.

During a briefing this morning Hernando County Administrator Jeff Rogers announced a local state of emergency as Hurricane Ian approaches Florida’s coast.

Authorities are issuing voluntary evacuation orders for low-lying areas in the county, mobile homes and areas west of Highway 19 traversing the county north to south, said Jim Coleman, county emergency management director.

Officials said they would be issuing mandatory evacuation order for the same areas beginning tomorrow. Schools in the county will be closed beginning on Tuesday.

The county could experience storm surge as high as 17 feet, depending tides, officials said, adding that the county will open shelter at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday.

Hernando County is just north of Tampa on Florida’s west coast.

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch speaks during a press conference on Monday.

Pinellas County, Florida officials are warning residents about the storm surge and wind impact from Hurricane Ian.

“This could be the storm that we’ve hoped would never come to our shores,” St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch said during a news briefing Monday.

During a news conference on Monday, Pinellas County Administrator Barry Burton said most paths have Hurricane Ian hitting Pinellas County in the next 48 hours. He said the storm surge will be significant and the impacts of wind will be felt before the eye.

The storm surge will be strong enough to flip a house, tear off a roof and down power lines and trees, Burton said.

Hurricane Ian is trending to slow down and could potentially sit on Pinellas County for 47 hours, Cathie Perkins, Pinellas County Director of Emergency Management said.

Officials have been planning for a Category 3 hurricane to hit and are expecting 10 to 15 inches of rain, Perkins added.

The county is planning for evacuations due to concerns over storm surge, Perkins said.

Perkins cautioned people to check their evacuation zone as evacuation zones were changed in 2022 and “it changed for a significant number of people in the county,” Perkins added.

Officials are opening emergency shelters today at 6 p.m. and more will open tomorrow, Perkins said.

Officials are asking long-term care facilities to evacuate today and some hospitals have already started evacuating, Perkins added.

Pinellas County, which is part of the Tampa Bay area, includes Clearwater and St. Petersburg, Florida.

After Hillsborough County issued mandatory evacuations for parts of the Tampa Bay area ahead of Hurricane Ian, Tampa mayor Jane Castor urged residents to leave.

“We are asking everyone to goahead and make those plans toleave from the Zone A, which basically is all thewaterfront.We have about 126 miles of waterfront just in our city alone … You don’thave to evacuate far.You just need to get away fromthe water,” she told CNN.

The main concern, Castor says, is the storm surge, which could be anywhere between 10 to 15 feet.

Addressing residents who do not want to leave their possessions behind, Castor reminded, “you certainly canreplace personal possessions.You can’t bring anyone back tolife.”

“Mother nature always wins.And this storm is going to be avery impactful storm whether itis offshore or it comes closerto Tampa Bay.And so this is nothingto mess around with.If you can leave, just leavenow.And we will take care of yourpersonal property.

You can find your evacuation zone with this online tool.

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MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, has issued an “installation-wide mandatory evacuation” by Tuesday at 12 p.m. ET for “non-mission essential individuals, including uniformed service members” and dependents, the facility said on its Twitter account on Monday.

MacDill Air Force Base has about 6,000 military and civilian personnel, according to the base’s website.

It is home to both US Central Command headquarters and US Special Operations Command headquarters.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday morning that Ian looks to be a “really big hurricane at thispoint,” noting that the “diameter is about 500 mileswide.”

DeSantis said some counties in the state have begun to issue evacuation notices and encouraged residents in the path of the storm to visit the state’s disaster website to “know the zone that you’re in” for potential evacuation.

The governor said that some transportation departments around the state are suspending tolls, and he said officials may suspend more if it is warranted. He also noted that some school closures have been announced and he believes they “may see more” schools cloisng this week.

DeSantis said the Florida National Guard has activated 5,000 members to help with storm response. He also said that 2,000 members of the National Guard from surrounding states were activated as well.

DeSantis noted that he’s already declared a state ofemergency for the entire of state.He said that “every hour, we getmore certainty … this will have majorimpacts on Florida’s Gulf Coast.”

The governor urged people to prepare but said there is “no need to panic buy” supplies.

A satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Ian near Cuba, right, on Monday at 11:10 a.m. ET.

Hurricane Ian’s strengthening continues in the Caribbean Sea on Monday morning, with sustained winds of 80 mph as of the 11 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center.

This means that the hurricane has officially undergone “rapid intensification,” which is defined as a storm’s top-end winds increasing by at least 35 mph in 24 hours or less. Ian’s winds have increased 35 mph since 5 p.m. ET yesterday evening.

The rapid intensification is expected to continue as the storm traverses very warm water, and is forecast to have winds of at least 105 mph (which would make it a Category 2) by this evening, according to the official hurricane ecenter forecast.

Rapid intensification is one of the ways that scientists have found climate change is impacting hurricanes and typhoons around the planet, as warmer ocean water allows for storms to grow stronger, faster.

Conditions in parts of Cuba will “deteriorate this evening” as Hurricane Ian continues to approach the island, the National Hurricane Center said.

Hurricane Ian remains a Category 1 storm, as it currently is about 240 miles southeast of Cuba’s western tip

“Ian forecast to continue rapidly strengthening,” the center said in its 11 a.m. ET update. “Conditions in western Cuba to deteriorate this evening and tonight with significant wind and storm surge impacts expected.”

Here’s a look at the latest forecast track:

The Artemis I rocket sits on a launch pad after the launch was scrubbed at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on September 6.

NASA will roll back its Artemis rocket off the launch pad because of Hurricane Ian, the space agency announced Monday.

Whenever it launches, the uncrewed Artemis I mission will journey around the moon. Although there is no human crew aboard the mission, it’s the first step of the Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the moon and eventually land them on Mars.

Pinellas County Director of Emergency Management Cathie Perkins speaks during a press conference Monday morning.

Pinellas County Director of Emergency Management Cathie Perkins said that officials in their area are planning for a Category 3 hurricane to hit and bring 10 to 15 inches of rain as well as devastating storm surge and wind.

During a Monday morning briefing, Perkins said that officials today received a “bad piece of news” that Ian is “trending to slow down” and “could potentially sit on top of us for 47 hours.”

She instructed residents to visit the county’s emergency website and check their evacuation zone. She told communities to “prepare for the worst” because this storm is “no joke.”

Perkins said long-term care facilities in Pinellas County have already begun evacuations. She said that people in mobile or manufactured homes “will need to evacuate,” too.

Perkins asked residents who live outside the evacuation zone to consider inviting someone to shelter with them. She also called for all tourists to “head home.”

Anyone who is leaving Pinellas County, she said, should leave today.

Pinellas County Sheriff BobGualtieri noted that currently the area is not under a mandatory evacuation order but “it will come” — so “put into motion right now plans that you have.”

Gualtieri added that if residents call first responders for help after a mandatory evacuation has been ordered “we’re not coming.”

Hillsborough County has issued mandatory evacuations for parts of the Tampa Bay area ahead of Hurricane Ian, County Administrator Bonnie M. Wise announced Monday.

Wise said about 300,000 people will be asked to evacuate under the orders.

Mandatory evacuations have been issued for zone A, and voluntary evacuations will be recommended for zone B. The orders will go into effect at 2 p.m. ET today, Wise said.

You can find your evacuation zone with this online tool.

There are two news conferences set to begin shortly with county officials in Florida discussing Hurricane Ian.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Division Of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie are also scheduled to speak later this morning from Tallahassee.

A satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Ian near Cuba, right, on Monday morning.

As Ian bears down on Florida, forecasters at the NationalWeatherService in Tampa are worried residents will not be ready for what could come to the Tampa Bay area.

“The last majorhurricanethat actually made a direct hit was 100 years ago,” weather service meteorologist Rick Davis told CNN. “So, there’s a lot of people that have been brushed by hurricanes in the last five or 10 years in Florida and they may have a perception of going through a strong storm.”

But it will not take a direct hit on Tampa to create catastrophic damage from flooding: Tampa Bay is extremely vulnerable to storm surge because water being pushed into Tampa Bay has nowhere to go “so it just continues to pile water in into downtown Tampa, which is very vulnerable to storm surgeflooding,” according to Davis.

Right now, the NationalHurricaneCenter is forecasting five to eight feet of storm surge for the region.

“But in reality, the Bay Area has been missed more often than not. So that’s why we tell people even if they’re lifelong Floridians like myself, this is something that we haven’t seen in our lifetime, so we definitely need to take it seriously,” Davis said.

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

Here’s a checklist to help you get started, with tips from theAmerican Red Cross,Federal Emergency Management Agency, theDepartment of Homeland Securityand theNational Hurricane Center.

What to do as the storm approaches:

What to have on hand as a storm approaches:

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

Schools will close inHillsboroughCounty Monday through Thursday as Florida braces for Hurricane Ian, according to a Sundaytweet from the school district.

Hillsborough County covers the city of Tampa and the surrounding area.

Ian strengthened into ahurricane this morning, according to the NationalHurricane Center.HurricaneIan currently has winds of 75 mph with even higher gusts.

HurricaneIanis forecast to rapidly strengthen today into tomorrow, but is now forecast to reach major hurricane status tonight when it is nearing Cuba, the National Hurricane Center said in their latest update. Tropical storm conditions are forecast across Cuba today with hurricane conditions beginning tonight.

After passing Cuba,Ianwill track through the eastern Caribbean, bringing impacts to Florida beginning on Tuesday. Heavy rain, hurricane-force winds, and storm surge are expected across the Keys and the West Coast of Florida this week. The Florida Keys are forecast to see 4 to 6 inches of rain, west-central Florida is forecast to see 8 to 10 inches of rain with isolated totals up to 15 inches possible, and the remainder of the Florida Peninsula is forecast to see 3 to 8 inches.

Tropical storm conditions are forecast to reach the west-central Florida coast Tuesday night, with hurricane conditions possible on Wednesday.

The current storm surge forecast for Florida is as follows:

“A few tornadoes are possible late Monday night and Tuesday across the Florida Keys and the southern and central Florida Peninsula,” the hurricane center added.

Ian has strengthened to ahurricane, according to a Monday morning update from the NationalHurricane Center.HurricaneIan has winds of 75 mph with even higher gusts.

Ahurricanewatch has been issued along the west coast of Florida from north of Englewood to the Anclote River, including Tampa Bay.

Here’s the latest update from the National Hurricane Center: