ORLANDO, Fla. — The parking lot at a Walmart in Metrowest was packed with customers Saturday afternoon, many hustling to find any leftover cases of water. But by the time they arrived, the shelves had long been cleared.
“We don’t have any more,” an employee said to them customers. “Come back later, we don’t have any more.”
The situation was the same at other stores nearby, as people rush to ready themselves for Tropical Storm Ian, which recent forecast models predict could strike Florida as a hurricane. Among them was a Target store near Millenia having very few gallon bottles of water left, as signs on the shelves limited purchases to four cases or bottles per customer.
“This is the third store I visited today,” said Maritza Osorio, who was leaving Target for a fourth location. “If not, we’ll have to try again tomorrow.”
There was fewer foot traffic through a Home Depot in the same plaza, with many carrying water in their carts as others shopped for slabs of plywood to be used as shutters, along with other items.
Although it’s not yet clear whether, or how strongly, Ian will hit if it strikes Central Florida, people like Gary Wilson aren’t taking any chances. He’s had his hurricane kit ready with supplies weeks into the beginning of the season and was at Home Depot for final preparations, just in case.
“If anything happens, I’m ready,” Wilson said.
As of Saturday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center’s models show Ian’s projected path shift toward making landfall just north of Tampa, though forecasters anticipate continued shifts over the weekend. The storm is expected to strengthen into a hurricane as early as Tuesday once it passes over Cuba and into the Gulf of Mexico.
It’s been years since a hurricane made landfall in Florida, the most recent being in 2018 when Hurricane Michael devastated the Panhandle. The previous year saw Hurricane Irma strike the Florida Keys, though its winds did impact Central Florida with flooding and days of power outages.
Even with Ian looming, meteorologist Chris Gibson, of Orlando Sentinel news partner Spectrum News 13, said people ought to not panic while seeking supplies.
“The goal is to never be freaked out, but it doesn’t have to be a major hurricane for it to cause damage,” Gibson said. “... Fortunately this season has been relatively quiet, but people should have plans ready in the event (Ian) reaches us.”
As Gov. Ron DeSantis expanded his emergency declaration statewide while urging the federal government to do the same, local officials are also helping residents get ready for Ian’s arrival. On Saturday, Orange County opened lines to Barnett Park and other areas countywide for people to fill up sandbags ahead of the storm, with Osceola County and other neighboring areas doing the same.
Meanwhile, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority activated its hurricane emergency response plan. And at Cape Canaveral, NASA once again scrubbed its scheduled Tuesday launch of Artemis I to the moon until after the storm passes.
“At this point, it’s still kind of fuzzy,” Gibson said of current projections. “So it’s important to continue to stay updated in the coming days.”
