Extreme wind and rain from Hurricane Ian lashing Tampa area

TAMPA, Fla. – Strong winds and relentless rain from Hurricane Ian are being felt Wednesday in the Tampa area.

Local 10′s Andrea Martinez and Jenise Fernandez are there.

Early Wednesday morning Martinez reported that she was already feeling the rain and wind pick up.

By late morning, water had begun receding in the Tampa Bay area.

Those effects would continue and intensify into the afternoon, according to Fernandez.

Water gets pushed out of the bay by strong winds blowing away from the shore -- it’s called storm surge setdown and a similar thing happened there in 2017 ahead of Hurricane Irma.

The danger is once the winds let up, the water rebounds back quickly, and officials warned residents of that and told them to shelter in place.

Hurricane Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa, further south down the coast from Tampa, as a Category 4 storm with wind speeds clocking in over 150 mph.

Significant storm surge was felt in several areas around Sanibel Island and Captiva, with significant flooding also seen in Fort Myers.

As rain and wind picks up in the area, Hillsborough and Pinellas County became ghost towns.

It was an eerie scene as the water in the bayous and bays receded.

Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference Wednesday morning as the Gulf Coast braces for impact. He said the time to leave is over and the time to hunker down is now.

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which runs over Tampa Bay and connects to Manatee County has been shut down to traffic in both directions.

Roadways are empty as the water began to cover the streets.

Several feet of storm surge is expected in the area as well as huge amounts of rain -- possibly more than 20 inches in some areas.

When time was still on their side Tuesday, many families hit the roads.

“We have about 2.5 million Floridians that are currently under some type of an evacuation order,” DeSantis said Tuesday.

There was heavy traffic on Florida highways earlier in the week with travel time along Interstate 4 tripling, but those in affected areas are urged to hunker down now until the storm passes.

Saint Petersburg’s mayor issued a warning to those staying behind.

“After a certain time, when tropical force winds are here, we will not be sending out first responders,” Mayor Ken Welch said.

Ian is now forecast to make landfall later Wednesday along Florida’s Gulf Coast, bringing life-threatening conditions.

The storm’s late change in track sent residents, now in Ian’s bullseye, scrambling to prepare.

Florida is now bracing for millions of power outages. About 30,000 workers are on standby to restore electricity after the storm and 5,000 Florida Guardsmen have been activated.

Several shelters are in place in the Tampa area.

Ian’s effects are expected to pick up in the area throughout the day.

The area will experience the worst of it Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

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