Hurricane Ian: Pinellas Residents Should Stay Put After Midnight

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — To quote The Clash's hit song, "Should I Stay or Should I Go?," Pinellas County residents are quickly losing their window to decide.

Pinellas County is urging residents to evacuate to a shelter now or to shelter in place after midnight due to the possibility of hazardous driving conditions Wednesday morning.

Tropical-force winds are expected to arrive by early Wednesday morning..

Pinellas County has issued a mandatory evacuation order for Zones A, B and C, including all mobile homes. Residents who need to go to a public shelter can find locations here.

Anyone in these zones who hasn't evacuated yet should do so immediately. Once sustained winds have reached 40 mph, emergency responders will stay off the roads and not be able to respond to most calls.

The county also has ordered mandatory evacuations of all health care facilities in Zones A, B and C. Those evacuations should now be complete or nearly complete.

The Pinellas County Emergency Operations Center is fully activated 24/7.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office has limited access to the barrier islands for inbound traffic and will not allow access until after the storm.

Stay up-to-date by viewing all Hurricane Ian coverage on Patch here.

Pinellas County remains under a hurricane warning and storm surge warning for Hurricane Ian. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area. A storm surge warning means there is a danger of life-threatening inundation from rising water moving inland from the coastline and Tampa Bay.

Hurricane Ian is expected to reach the Tampa Bay area as a strong hurricane, possibly as a Category 4 major hurricane.

Residents should plan for the possibility of winds greater than 110 mph. Tornadoes are also possible.

There's still some uncertainty with the track, size and intensity of the storm, but Pinellas County will see very significant impacts wherever the storm makes landfall, said Pinellas officials.

Rainfall totals of 8 to 15 inches are expected through Friday, and low-lying areas of Pinellas County are expected to flood. Flooding is different from storm surge.

Hurricane-driven storm surge can cause significant property damage when high winds and low pressure cause water to amass inside the storm, releasing a powerful rush over land when the hurricane moves onshore.

Flooding is the result of rivers, lakes, retention ponds and other bodies of water overflowing.

Public works has lowered Lake Seminole and Taylor Lake and is pumping water from Brooker Creek to prevent flooding. Additionally, the Southwest Water Management District has lowered Tarpon Lake.

Related:

• Hurricane Ian: Hillsborough Residents In Zone A Must Evacuate Now
• Hurricane Ian: Cat. 3 Storm Will Make Landfall In Venice
• Hurricane Ian: Tampa Bay International Airports To Close Ahead Of Ian
• Hurricane Ian: DeSantis Says Tampa Bay Shouldn't Let Down Its Guard

Nevertheless, at 11 a.m. Tuesday, the water level of Brooker Creek in the Tarpon Woods area was 10.8 feet. Roadway flooding will occur when the gauge exceeds 12 feet.

If you are evacuating, do so immediately. Pinellas County's 25 shelters could fill up or you may not be able to get there due to high winds and flooding.

Locations and capacity status can be found here. Special needs and pet-friendly shelters can be located by using the dropdown menu.

The free Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority bus service to shelters ended at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

However, the ride share service Uber is offering free rides to and from public shelters for those evacuating the storm. Enter code IANRELIEF and select the shelter where you are going.

Drawbridges were closed this afternoon and will remain closed through the storm.

The U.S. Coast Guard is alerting boaters and recommends mariners monitor VHF-FM radio channel 16.