Saw on social media that gridlock of vehicles trying to get out of Tampa last night via I-4 headed towards the direction of Kissimmee/ Orlando . The Pinellas admin advised a 1 hour normal drivetime could take up to 10 hours. Anyone who left earlier was wiser.
Yes offically a Cat 3 well on the way to Cat 4 which makes it a major hurricane. It’s also important to note, the more south landfall is, the stronger the storm will be at landfall. As of now it will likely be a major (Cat 3+) at landfall.
This thing now looks like it's going straight up the I-4 corridor. But darn it, winds won't be strong enough to topple this.
…I’ll take the “Over”
You’re right, now essentially a lock for TS strength winds and odds climbing for hurricane force ones. Which when combined with soaking rains well before the winds means lots of tree damage leading to widespread power outages. Also disclaimer this is still based off the 11pm track.
The structure must be haunted. Not finished after all these years.
Residents in Central FL are surrounded by lakes and or retention ponds. A 6-10 inch downpour and the grounds are already much saturated and a hurricane on top of it, will likely flood a number of areas including roadways. If one thinks parks and tourism areas open up by the weekend , if the roadways are impassable it will be one of the challenges.
The NHC has pegged Ian to be a major hurricane for days now so I don’t think anyone has underestimated this one, but intensity forecasts are still tough.
I wonder if they are reversing westbound or northbound lanes on on any roadways to try and increase capacity out of Tampa.
Oh I think they have it figured close to right…but the intensity is the thing - as you point out.
That goes against instinct/biology - however.
I saw on video that emergency shoulder travel lane was going to used to get more out of harms way. You made a great point. A number of folks who are not part of evac zone do also get on the roads for their own personal reason. Buddies of mine got on the road in a previous storm because when you are warned of extensive power outages , flooding etc, some also want to get the heck out of Dodge and drive into an area with power and safer ground. The hotel rooms will probably be hard to come by. When some experienced being out of power for days or weeks from past experience I don’t fault them from driving away too.
