People trapped, 2.5M without power as Ian drenches Florida
Source: AP
By CURT ANDERSON
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Ian left a path of destruction in southwest Florida, trapping people in flooded homes, damaging the roof of a hospital intensive care unit and knocking out power to 2.5 million people before aiming for the Atlantic Coast on Thursday.
One of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the United States churned across the Florida peninsula, threatening catastrophic flooding inland. Ian’s tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 415 miles (665 km), and nearly the entire state was getting drenched.
The National Hurricane Center said Ian became a tropical storm over land early Thursday and was expected to regain near-hurricane strength after emerging over Atlantic waters near the Kennedy Space Center later in the day. Flooding rains continued across the state, and a stretch of the Gulf Coast remained inundated by ocean water, pushed ashore by the massive storm.
“Severe and life-threatening storm surge inundation of 8 to 10 feet above ground level along with destructive waves is ongoing along the southwest Florida coastline from Englewood to Bonita Beach, including Charlotte Harbor,” the center said.
Curious sightseers walk in the receding waters of Tampa Bay due to the low tide and tremendous winds from Hurricane Ian in Tampa, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel via AP)
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when you see this kind of damage to something like trees which is what Hurricane Michael did in the below pics, it screams "Cat 5" although it was originally registered as a Cat 4 at landfall (where NOAA finally upgraded Michael to Cat 5 at landfall, months later).
That storm actually had sustained winds of 160 mph, but because an anemometer broke at the AFB there due to the extreme/violent gusts from the hurricane, they didn't have a good confirmation source at the landfall spots, of what the winds really were. But the damage was unmistakable.
HURRICANE MICHAEL PICS (2018)
The hope is that they can get a good evaluation of Ian at landfall because a bunch of us were monitoring the recon flights into the storm and there were a number of dropsonde readings that were showing in excess of the 155+ winds/wind gusts (including one that I think may have even been unflagged, of 170 mph), where 157 mph and higher "sustained" would be Cat 5 vs Cat 4. The key would be "sustained" in order to make a good call as well.
to check on some folks, bring supplies/chainsaws and drive around and it looks pretty bad. Just the route south from where they were previously down I-75, they ran into a huge backup (there was also a utility convoy headed down with bucket trucks) and the backup was because police took 3 lanes down to 1 to go under an overpass that collapsed on the right side (apparently had been flooded) that was being manually propped up so that cars/trucks in the far left lane could go under it. 
Closer to Ft. Meyer's Beach they have been on a road that is littered with boats that were torn out of their moorings and are pushed up against the guard rails.
