Hurricane Ian: DeSantis Says Tampa Bay Shouldn't Let Down Its Guard

FLORIDA — Reminiscent of Hurricane Charley in 2004, the National Hurricane Center is now predicting that Hurricane Ian will turn east before reaching Tampa Bay and make landfall in Venice as a Category 3 hurricane, according to Florida emergency management director Kevin Guthrie.

"Charley was originally forecast to go into Tampa Bay and then made a sudden turn and hit southwest Florida," said Gov. Ron DeSantis during a new conference Tuesday morning.

He said Hurricane Ian is now predicted to turn east before striking Tampa Bay and instead make landfall south of Sarasota. Nevertheless, DeSantis said Tampa Bay residents shouldn't let down their guard.

"It could still wobble and send the hurricane in a different direction," he said. "We've seen that before. Tampa Bay is not out of the woods. And even if it doesn't hit Tampa Bay directly, what we have here is really historic storm surge and flooding. The storm surge you're going to see generated from this event will far eclipse what we saw with Charley."

He said the hurricane, with winds that extend 500 miles, will have a major impact on the Gulf Coast wherever it hits. With that in mind, he urged the 2.5 million Floridians from Pasco County to Fort Myers under an evacuation order to heed the mandate to get out of the area.

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

"It doesn't mean you have to go all over God's creation to evacuate," he said. "Just get to higher ground. When you have 5 to 10 feet of storm surge, that's nothing you want to be a part of. We can't unring the bell if you stay, and you end up getting washed away in a historic storm surge."

"If they heed the evacuation order, I have a 100 percent guarantee they will not die from storm surge," Guthrie said.

DeSantis said all the impacted counties now have storm-resistant shelters open that are away from potentially dangerous areas.

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For those who don't want to stay in a public shelter, Visit Florida has partnered with the online hotel reservation site, Expedia, to provide Floridians with a dedicated site listing available rooms in Florida hotels where evacuees can stay, DeSantis said.

With the updated track, Guthrie said he's in the process of mobilizing more resources to southwest Florida.

Instead of sending Hurricane Ian up the west coast of Florida, DeSantis said the new track will send it east across the state, emerging in the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, landlocked counties in the hurricane's path could see hurricane-force winds, major flooding and power outages.

Five search-and-rescue teams along with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation officers with rescue boats and helicopters are on standby to help residents caught in storm surge or floods.

The Florida Department of Transportation has suspended tolls on a number of tolls roads along evacuation routes, and could drop tolls on more roads if necessary.

DeSantis said traffic heading away from the impacted areas of the Gulf Coast has increased 30 to 40 percent.

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

He said the FDOT explored the idea of making highways one-way roads for hurricane evacuations, but discounted the idea due to the need to get goods and services into the affected areas.

The FDOT will begin allowing drivers to use the shoulder as another lane on some of the more congested highways when traffic slows to 40 mph or less.

Additionally, DeSantis said public school has been canceled in 26 Florida counties and more may suspend classes once the hurricane's path is established.

At its 11 a.m. update, the National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Ian is located about 305 miles south-southwest of Sarasota and is moving at about 10 mph.

The center of Ian is expected to move over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico in a couple of hours, pass west of the Florida Keys later Tuesday, and approach the west coast of Florida within the hurricane warning area on Wednesday and Wednesday night.

The NHC said the hurricane is on track to turn toward the north-northeast with a strengthening of the hurricane Tuesday night and Wednesday, putting landfall near Venice in Sarasota County with near 115 mph sustained winds and higher gusts.

"Ian is forecast to approach the west coast of Florida as an extremely dangerous major hurricane," said forecasters at the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane-force winds extend out up to 35 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend out up to 140 miles.