coast of florida. 155-mile-per-hour wind speeds. that s just two miles short of a category 5 hurricane. it s expected to make landfall about 100 miles south of here in the port charlotte area. rain 12 to 24 inches across much of the florida peninsula, challenge create freshwater flooding. the impact of this will be felt by millions in florida. already 200,000 people without power. that s before the storm even makes landfall. this will uproot people s lives. its a life-threatening storm. this is the sunshine skyway bridge that we have pictures of. you can see the winds kicking up. it will have an enormous impact. let s go to chad myers first at the weather center. the 11:00 a.m. advisory out now. what do you see? still see the 155-mile-per-hour eyewall winds. inside the eye it could be down to 5 or 10 in the middle, but we re working our way onshore. the eye is not onshore. the eyewall is coming onshore. this is what it looks like from space, this is called the visible image
just after 3:00 p.m. east coast, the eye crossed over a barrier island near ft. myers, florida. this is a live look at the satellite right now. you can see the immense size and strength mof the hurricane. the winds are 150 miles an hour. that s just shy of making this a monstrous category 5. this was the scene just ahead of landfall captured by a storm chaser in pine island, florida. these conditions are expected to worsen in the coming hours, believe it or not. more than 850,000 customers are without power across the state of florida. another major concern today is the storm surge. the storm surge is the abnormal rise of ocean water that s generated by the storm. the lee county sheriff expects that to be, quote, life changing today. that area includes ft. myers and the city of cape coral where the emergency management manager tells cnn, hurricane ian will likely be one of the worst the region has ever seen. we are covering the storm as only cnn can with our team of journalis
though her public schedule was greatly reduced in recent months, she met with new prime minister liz truss just two days ago. but sadly her passing is the closing chapter of a now by gone era. her reign is the connective tissue between generations, presidents and prime ministers came and went. the queen elizabeth stayed constant always managing to stay above the political fray. she was the first thrust into the public eye during world war ii while still a princess. though just a child, she didn t flee the country as nazi planes blitzed london and she saw the devastation of those attacks firsthand. those horrors clearly affected her and forged her commitment to a life of service. i declare before you all with my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and to the service of our great imperial family. jesse: speaking of that imperial family, the queen helped accelerate diesel ration ever the british empire. during the 1960s and 70s 20 countr
devastating some of the most important tobacco farms used to produce iconic cigars. you are watching fox and friends first, i m carley shimkus todd: i m todd piro, our reporters are live this morning. janice dean is in the fox weather center in new york city. carley: we begin in st. pete s beach, on track to be one of the first places hit today. lauren, what are you seeing on the ground right now? still dry at this moment and looking ago, later today that will not be the case. this morning ian is expected to strengthen to a category four hurricane, before moving to a hurricane three in cape coral. storm surge could reach 10 to 15 feet. tornados reported last night near miami, thousands are without power. that number is expected to go into the millions, 30,000 personnel are standing by to get the lights back on once the worst of the storm passes. ian devastated cuba as category three, knocking out power to the entire island. 2.5 million people have been told to evacuat
todd: hurricane ian plowing through western cuba yesterday knocking out power to the entire country and devastating the most important tobacco farms in the country used to produce cuba s iconic cigars. you are watching fox and friends first, i m todd piro. carley: i m carley shimkus, our reporters are live across florida this morning, we begin with senior meteorologist, janice dean who is tracking it from our studio. janice: they just upped the winds, that is a strong category four storm, the pressure has dropped by 10 millibars. it is strengthen as it approaches the coast, we r expecting landfall this afternoon. heightened awareness to the storm surge and for hours it will batter the coast and interior sections of florida. rain and wind and storm surge will impact coast of florida and inland will flood two-story homes at the coast. you don t have time, you can hide from the wind, you have to run from the storm surge. wind gusts in excess of 100 mile per hour for dura