Hurricane Ian is approaching Tampa Bay, with landfall expected early Wednesday afternoon. The National Hurricane Center said Ian is an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 with top winds of 155 mph ― just short of a Category 5 storm.
Hillsborough County has ordered mandatory evacuation for Zone A, Zone B and mobile homes. Pinellas and Pasco counties have ordered mandatory evacuations for Zones A, B, C and mobile homes. At least 2.5 million people across Florida were ordered to evacuate as of Wednesday morning.
Officials warned of “catastrophic wind damage,” life-threatening floods and dangerous storm surge as the storm approaches.
Here’s a glimpse of the storm from around the Tampa Bay area.