MIAMI — Hurricane Ian’s projected path shifted to the south Tuesday and farther away from Tampa Bay, a heavily populated region highly vulnerable to storm surge flooding, but the storm was still shaping up a potential wide-ranging disaster for Florida.
Much of the peninsula was under hurricane or tropical storm warnings. More than 2.5 million people had fled homes in high-risk coastal areas, some that could see storm surge up to 12 feet deep. Flash flood warnings were posted for Central Florida with up to 24 inches of drenching rains possible for days to come. Schools were closed in many counties, including Miami-Dade and Broward. So were Orlando theme parks. Massive power outages are likely.
In its 5 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday forecast, the National Hurricane Center said the most direct and damaging impact from Hurricane Ian is expected to be somewhere along the Gulf Coast between Fort Myers and Sarasota. Ian could come ashore as a Category 3 or 4 storm, packing 130 mph winds and possibly bringing historic levels of storm surge to the Sarasota area.
