Will hurricane IAN ruin my trip to Tampa Florida on October 3rd?

Time will tell. You just have to keep an eye out on the news. Tampa hasn’t had a direct hit in years but this one may be a big one.

Honestly, even the Weather Channel nor the National Weather Service people can’t answer this Q. You’ve got a 50/50 shot. Tampa is usually lucky; however, nobody seems to want to guess what Ian will be doing. You should know for sure before the 3rd. Which airport will you be flying into???

Maybe. The storm will have passed by 10/3, but there may be a good but of damage.

I’m watching ABC evening news right now. It is scheduled to hit very close to Tampa tonight as a category 4 hurricane.

I’ve been watching NBC & their weather is saying it should pass over Tampa on Thursday about 2pm as a Cat 1. IF that turns out to be correct, you should be OK. 80–85 mph winds is nothing in FL. They are still unsure about the storm surge though. Flooding could become a major problem. Regardless of whether it hits tonight or Thurs afternoon, you should know whether or not to leave home on the 3rd!!!

IF it hits tonight, you will have a couple extra days of cleanup going on which could help with your trip. I know that’s NOT a lot of help; but, it’s the best info that I’ve been able to get as every channel is tracking a different model. One even said it would go through Sarasota & miss a direct hit on Tampa & Inside Edition just said it would be the worst to hit Tampa in over 100 years.

I’m just thankful that you’re NOT down there this week & in the midst of it!!!

As you can see, predictions are all over the map – literally. So try not to worry but watch the news and check with the airline before you set off. If there is any danger, they will definitely cancel the flight.

What I’ve heard from the National Wetter Service, is that counter cyclone brIAN is going to redirect IAN to the gubner’s mansion in Tallahassee. ;)

I am scared about this for several reasons. One we already had to re-book our fight and hotel once (the timing wasn’t right) and two my procedure is already set for October 4th in the morning. Three I have never been on a flight before which is kinda nerve-racking already. If the clean-up delays us again I don’t know what we’ll do? :(

IF the cleanup delays you again, the docs will be smiling that they won’t need to go out in all that crap & they will gladly reschedule you!!! Stressing over it won’t change anything, so just go with the flow!!! Your Mom’s got your back!!!

^^ You always help me see the bright side of things :) I know I worry too much, I just want this to be done and over. She does help me so much and she is always like you, level headed and sure of herself.

^ We’ve had years of experience & you will get there one day!!! I’ve been watching Fox weather this morning & it appears that Ian is going to hit about 20 miles south of Tampa so the impact might not be as bad as originally anticipated. By the time you get home from school, you should have a better idea of what to expect!!!

Most likely the worst of the hurricane will have moved on, but you’ll be there during the clean up. Last I saw it’s coming in as a hurricane 2. If that’s a direct hit (the eye or more importantly the eye wall) then that’s a pretty bad hammering, but if it’s 40 miles north or south the winds will be much less.

Floridians usually don’t get wound up about the wind if it’s less than a cat 3. Cat 3 gets way more serious, and that is a possibility. The big problem is the water with this storm system and the predicted slow forward motion. Tampa Bay Area has some of the worst water management I have ever experienced in Florida! Tampa area also has some big trees and the combination of saturated ground, heavy top trees, and wind isn’t good.

Power could be out in some places and most likely there will be a nighttime curfew. If you had any plans that you would be driving or even walking in the dark you will not be able to do it if there is a curfew. I’m assuming you won’t be the actual driver, but I mean with whoever you are visiting. Curfews are common in Florida after a storm and for very good reason. We don’t complain about them and scream martial law, and we don’t make them political.

If you are staying near a very commercial area or a hospital the electricity will be repaired in those locations first, and any residential nearby benefits from it.

If your dates are flexible you might want to push your vacation out a few days, but you can just wait and see. I would wait and see. You’ll know in a few days what the story is.

Call ahead before you leave home.

Definitely check before leaving home!!! The Tampa airport will be closing its door around 5 this afternoon & won’t reopen until everything clears up.That could be 1 day, 3 days, or a week. No way to know in advance, so check with the airlines BEFORE heading to the airport!!! Of course, the airlines might be able to fly you into a different airport & you could still get there, but you need to prepare ahead of time for what’s going on. I’m sure that your Mom has it ALL under control!!!

The track is shifting more eastward. If it goes even more east and makes landfall well south of Tampa, Tampa might have less clean up to deal with, but not necessarily since it looks like the hurricane might have higher winds of it turns east.

Just gotta wait and see.

Last I heard is that Venice should be the worst hit. Except for storm surges, Tampa may well be spared the worst. Of course, that is subject to change in the next weather report!!!

The airline flight will let you know if it is safe or rescheduled.
I thought you already left. I made all those cookies for you two weeks ago. Did you eat them already?

I would say it’s looking less and less likely that you’ll be going on Monday. Most flights are being canceled this week. But your Mom can talk to the airlines and the doctors.

I’m surprised that the doctor’s office hasn’t called to reschedule yet.

^^Tampa has been preparing for a hurricane. They’re busy trying to tend to their own families, and property. Plus, if the OP is going to a regular hospital (I have no idea) the hospital might be taking in people for during the storm who are likely to have an emergency or are 8–9 months pregnant. People wind up sleeping in hospital hallways. Emergency services cannot come to your house once sustained winds are 40mph or stronger. There basically is no 911.

They most likely cancelled all procedures for today and tomorrow.

By Monday probably procedures will be on schedule.

Hopefully, the people with cancelled flights will be able to fly in over the weekend and on Monday flights will be back to normal, but the problem is flights over the last year have been packed full, so it’s harder to catch up.

We have not heard of any cancellations just yet (fingers crossed) but I hope we don’t have to reschedule again. We are keeping a close eye on this whole thing.

@RayaHope I would be hoping that they would be rescheduling it as I wouldn’t want to have to fly into that mess & deal with the aftermath.

@RayaHope Maybe call the hospital on Friday and confirm. I would definitely confirm your appointment is still good before flying in.

@JLeslie When you get stuck on an idea, you’re like a pit bull!!! I don’t think she’s going to the hospital there. She’s going for tests that I think will be done in a doctor’s office or clinic. I might be wrong; however, I don’t think that contacting the hospital is going to help a whole lot IF her doctor can’t get there!!! IF you go back to the beginning of this Q, everybody is aware that there is a hurricane going on in/around Tampa & the majority of us understand that the hospitals will be overrun with problems. I said that I was surprised that her DOCTOR’s office hadn’t contacted with an update. I’m sure the hospital personnel is way too busy to be calling patients. Even IF she is going into the hospital, her doctor’s office would be coordinating that. I would think that during this busy time for the hospital that all non-emergency procedures would be delayed automatically & her doctor’s office would be the one to reschedule. That’s why they get the big bucks!!!

@LadyMarissa My mistake, for some reason I thought the tests or procedure were at a hospital. Ok, sure, the OP should call whoever the appointment is with.

I know everyone on the Q knows there is a hurricane in FL, what’s your point with that? It’s one of the worst I’ve seen in Florida, and I’ve been through a lot of them. Flipping storm is brutal!

Tampa is not getting pummeled like the cities to the south, but if the hospital, office, clinic, is on the water near the coast it could be flooded, but Tampa is huge. Her appointment might be in a place that is inland. Their electricity might be out, but my two friends in Tampa still have their power right now. There will be trees to clean up, but that will probably start tomorrow. There are thousands of workers standing by to clean up downed foliage and fix the electricity.

The storm is traveling northeast towards Orlando and then will probably go east of my house and over to the Atlantic, and then up into North Carolina where I am right now. I’m going to get Ian even though I’m not at my home in Florida.

@JLeslie A little off topic, but you did mention Orlando. Has Disney ever been hit by a hurricane or tornado? How do they handle something like this? I’m sure it could totally devastate the park.

@chyna I remember back in 2005 give or take a year a hurricane that crossed the state and hit Orlando as a Cat 2 or 3 and it blew the roof off of a major post office sorting facility or post office and so the letters and packages there were blown all around and damaged. Disney was affected by that storm and a few others over the years where they actually closed the parks.

Disney announced yesterday they were closing the parks Wednesday and Thursday. They have been removing anything outside that can easily blow around and get ruined or hit a window if it becomes airborne. The people staying at the cabins and camping areas were moved to regular rooms in various hotels on Disney property. Outdoor activities were cancelled. I assume guests have been able to do things inside the resorts, but some resorts are exterior hall buildings, so those people are basically stuck in their rooms until it’s ok to walk outside again.

Some of the parks flood easily, I think Magic Kingdom is one of them, but I might be remembering incorrectly.

I’m in a couple of Disney Facebook groups, I’ll check to see what people are saying. You can look on your weather app and see what their current wind conditions are. Accuweather app you can literally type in Magic Kingdom and it will come up like a city does. I think you can do it for EPCOT and all of the parks. When I just looked at radar about 10 minutes ago Orlando was starting to hammered with bad rain and I’m assuming the winds are starting to gust above 50 now. I didn’t look at the detail.

I’m in North Carolina so I’m not seeing the local TV for Orlando. Orlando is my “local channel” and probably they are updating what’s happening at Disney. The national stations like CNN, Weather Channel, Fox, are mostly on the coast to show the worst damage happening.

The hurricane is down to a cat 2 now.

I sure hope this goes away real soon so they can clean up and get back to living again. Some may think this is silly but I’m gonna pray for them :)

Some places will be out of power for weeks. Many houses and buildings are destroyed or semi-destroyed where the eye came in and on the barrier islands. I haven’t seen any of the reporters on the islands, so we don’t know what happened there. My guess is a lot of the islands were either partially or completely covered along the coast near Ft. Myers and north, maybe up to Clearwater area.

I’m sure many people right now appreciate all the prayers. It’s a devastating hurricane.

@chyna Disney usually doesn’t have to close, because the hurricanes lose power over land and Orlando is in the center of the state. I think it has closed less than ten times for a hurricane in its entire history. It’s some really low number.

It was reported that Disney had to close on Wednesday afternoon due to flooding. They didn’t anticipate being closed for very long.

CBS had reported that Tampa had been spared the worse as the hurricane came in below them & the storm surge that would have caused massive flooding turned into a blowout tide that sucked a good portion of the water back out to sea. Unless high tide suddenly changed that, their flooding should be minimal for Florida standards.

^^I said above that Disney announced closing Wednesday and Thursday back on Tuesday.

Here’s a short article about what it was like at Disney as the storm was approaching. https://deadline.com/2022/09/disney-world-hotel-stuck-hurricane-ian-1235130164/amp/

@RayaHope Please keep us apprised about your situation, we are all concerned for you!

Friends who live right near Tampa reported storm is over. They had heavy rain but not much damage around there and still have power.

So far so good, we have not heard of any closing or rescheduling yet so we may be okay to still go. We are keeping an eye on all this but it looks like Tampa was spared. YAY!!!

I just heard from an “in-law” and their house and new car in Naples were totally destroyed. It must be a tremendous shock.

@janbb Oh no. Had they evacuated? Brand new too. I assume it was parked outside, or did their garage get damaged too?

My inlaws had their cars damaged (fixable) over on the southeast coast in Delray Beach. My MIL actually moved her son’s car twice trying to guess which outside parking space would be safer. Her husband probably thought she was nuts. One of the spaces she moved the car from a tree fell on the car parked there.

@JLeslie I can’t ask her for details. She must be very busy and worried. She said she was safe with friends in another part of Naples.

@JLeslie She said “ house and new car” totally destroyed. I can’t even imagine.

^^Thanks, for some reason it didn’t register when I read it. Devastating. Thank goodness they’re safe, but still so upsetting.

@JLeslie Yeah, I can’t bear to even imagine it.

Not just they’re house, but all the personal things inside of the house. All the sentimental things. I know several people who lost everything to a flood or fire and it’s just horrible. The months following are horrible.

When my cousin lost her house in a California fire she was so grateful my sister and I had copies of letters written by her dad and photos. Those are the types of things family can help fill in sometimes. Now, a lot of photos are electronic, but some of the older things aren’t kept electronically. We scanned a bunch of things and emailed them to her once she was temporarily settled. He died when she was a little girl.

Someone just posted a link from a news article saying that Tampa Airport is opening tomorrow at 10 a.m.

Seems like your trip should be on @RayaHope – but do check to be sure.

^^ We will and thank you :)