Hurricane Irma: Sleepless In Tampa Bay

LAND O' LAKES, FL — Anxiety grips many in the Tampa Bay area as Hurricane Irma follows a track expected to bring it into the region sometime on Sunday. Anticipated to downgrade somewhat by the time it moves north up Florida’s west coast, Irma is still likely to remain a major hurricane upon her arrival.

Tampa Bay has not witnessed a strike from a major hurricane since 1921. Counties in the region, such as Polk, came face-to-face with Hurricane Charley back in 2004, but for many the threat Irma poses is something entirely new. (For more hurricane news or local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Land O’ Lakes Patch, and click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Fear and anticipation hung in the air in the early morning hours Saturday, more oppressing than humidity that makes Tampa Bay area summers nearly unbearable. People across the region found sleep elusive, taking to Facebook to share their well-wishes for others, let friends and family know their plans or simply express their angst. Last-minute phone calls were placed to loved ones who were under evacuation orders, but had yet to leave.

Analysis: There's No Way Around Irma's Wrath For Florida

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Those who made the choice to hunker down found themselves wondering if they had done enough to prepare. Last-minute lists were carefully drafted with some planning mad Saturday morning dashes to seek out missed supplies.

Just what the next few days will hold for the Tampa Bay area remains a story for time to tell. By 8 a.m. Saturday, Irma had downgraded to a Category 4 storm after making landfall in Cuba. Still packing maximum sustained winds of 130 mph, the storm had forced hurricane warnings to go up along much of Florida’s west coast, from the tip to Chassahowitzka in Citrus County. Storm surge warnings were also in place from Volusia and Brevard counties on the east side of the state around the peninsula to Chassahowitzka. Warnings mean that hurricane and storm surge conditions are expected within the warning area within 36 hours.

Thirty-six hours of watching, waiting, hoping.

• See also: Hurricane Irma ‘Extreme' Threat To Tampa Bay Area: Forecasters

Patch editor Sherri Lonon has called the Tampa Bay area home since middle school. She’s covered the region as a journalist her entire adult life. It is her sincerest hope that the communities she knows and loves weather Irma well, and the people who make Tampa Bay so very special heed warnings and stay safe.

Graphic courtesy of the National Hurricane Center