this is what forecasters are warning about as hurricane ian, a dangerous category 3 storm, maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour. it s strengthening, with florida right in its sights. take a look at this. there s the radar. if you are in florida right now, or you know someone there, the next few hours could really be crucial. millions of people, millions are under warnings and watches as this massive storm takes aim at that state. the numbers are staggering. 15 million people under hurricane warnings in southwestern florida. the national hurricane center says they need to rush to finish preparations to protect their lives and their properties. more than 7 million are under a tornado watch in central and southern florida. and that includes miami, and that through 5 am. and that could change. we re going to get updated forecast about the hours here. over two and a half million people are under evacuation orders right now. one and three quarter million of them under mand
and it might strike hard there tomorrow. not only is this a life-threatening category 3 hurricane getting stronger, packing winds of 120 miles an hour, it s also getting larger in its size. ian s wind field is expanding, which can potentially expose more of florida to destruction. the storm s exact landfall tomorrow does remain uncertain, but it could be between tampa and ft. myers. now, one of the greatest threats is the storm surge and it could reach up to even 12 feet in some areas, which could bring, as you can imagine, pretty catastrophic flooding. floridians are being urged by officials not to underestimate this storm and nearly 2 million people are already under mandatory evacuation orders all across florida. and more are at least urged to leave. police in tampa are now going door to door warning people they got to get out. 5,000 national guard members are now even activated in florida and another 2,000 guard troops are from other states to help them out. we re about t
hey, thanks for. watching don lemon tonight starts right now. hey, don lemon. hello, laura coates. we ve got a big storm bearing down, down in florida. it s really. bad it s unbelievable. you think about the storm surge, you think about the area that is affecting. it s the first in what, 100 years, don? it s scary. yeah, it s growing and growing and growing. and i m supposed to go down. so hopefully i can go down, get on a plane. if so, i will see you tomorrow night. please stay safe. thank you very much, laura. stay safe, i will see you soon. this is don lemon tonight. and what laura and i were just talking about is a life-threatening impact. this is something you really need to pay attention to, especially if you re in the path, the of love once or relatives there. just the country as a whole, this is a normal.