Going to one particular shelter near ft. Myers. Many of them are still waiting to get in. Were going to check in with our drew griffin whos there in the hour ahead. But first, lets get the latest most porntdly on where this storm is headed. Allison chinchar is in the Weather Center. Bring us up to date. Right, anderson. Take a look at what we have right now, imagery where we can see the latest on irma. Winds 125 Miles Per Hour gusting up to 155 Miles Per Hour. The movement its been what we call wobbling where its going back and forth between west and north and west and north. The question is when does it finally start to make that really sharp turn to the north. We focus on the maximum wind gusts. Notice for the most part its the western half of florida where we have our strongest winds. Key west, this will be our peak maximum wind gusts around 138 Miles Per Hour. But say up around ft. Myers 136, even tampa going to be in the triple digits right around 116 Miles Per Hour. The track its
Dominican republican and republic and haiti. And its packing 155 Miles Per Hour winds has left a trail of destruction since thursday. At least 17 people dead, over 100 wounded. Florida now bracing for impact with over half a Million People scrambling to evacuate. Clogged highways, crowded gas stations, empty store shelves. This is the scene as the window to escape rapidly closes. The governor of florida urging his citizens to heed those Evacuation Orders. If youre told to evacuate, leave and get out quickly. The roads will fill up quickly so you need to go. Im a dad and im a grandfather. I love my family. I cant imagine life without them. Do not put yourself or your familys life at risk. We are running out of time. The storm is almost here. If you are in an evacuation zone you need to go now. This is a catastrophic storm that our state has never seen. And white House Homeland Security adviser tom bossert this afternoon pledging to serve the leaders of all states in the path of Hurrican
Morning from the Sunshine State depict slashing wind and rain, bent and broken trees, pounding serve. Irma is expected to spend the next day and a half tracking up the west coast of the state of florida, naples, ft. Myers, sarasota, st. Petersburg and tampa face the greatest danger, it looks like. Frankly, irma is so large and powerful, there are lifethreatening hazards on both sides of the peninsula. It will be tomorrow afternoon before it crosses the panhandle and then hits georgia and alabama. 46 Million People are in the path of this storm. Tens of thousands are in shelters this morning. For many of them, its too late to get out and its only going to get worse. Reporters in key west and major cities along both east and west florida coasts this morning. Well start with kyung lah in miami beach, getting hit with Hurricane Force winds. I can tell you what im seeing and what im feeling. Even trying to wear a ball cap tied to your head, its very hard to keep anything secure. Were seeing
Florida peninsula. We dont know exactly where or how irma is going to crash into florida, but it will. And when it does, expect catastrophic destruction. Just look at what this storm did to important oh rico. Some places in florida could be uninhabitable for weeks. Why . One reason is the storm surge. It could hit 12 feet. For perspective, this is 8 feet. Its going to be half as tall as that on top of it. Add 4 feet to this. Buildings kwoo collapse into the sea. And this is just the storm surge. Its not the winds. Winds are pat 155 miles an hour. One tick below category 5 strength. Lesson now to governor rick scotts warning. Every floridan should take this seriously and be aggressive to protect your family. Possession can be replaced. Your life and your family cannot. I think about my mom and how hard it would have been for her to be completely broke and have kids and have to evacuate. But you have to do it. You cant afford not to do it. Think about your family. You have to keep your f
Hurricane force winds well over 100 miles from the eye will see Tropical Storm force winds. We are in naples, florida, on the west coast, an area of particular vulnerability. Especially to storm surge. And we have been getting wet and hit hour after hour. It all hits and soaks and the duration can make damage that much worse. Here is the good news. Cnn is everywhere the storm is going to be. We will show you what happens in real time. Allison chinchar has been taking us through it all morning long. Weve seen a shift in the path. Now were seeing a real deal in the keys. Lay it out for us. Top of the 8 00 hour, we are starting to see that center of circulation. Its about to make landfall over the florida keys. The biggest change in that latest advisory is seeing westward movement and taking on more of a true and north forward movement. Even slight changes like that, going from a little bit west to more northnorthwest, that can ultimately change your landfall times for some of these place