earlier demonstrated just how powerful those winds can be. there is the wind speed, as i am standing next to the building. i will take a knee. oops. i ll have to take a knee there. okay. you guys got it i m going back out. the powerful winds created record level storm surges in areas like fort myers and naples, florida. over 2 million are without power tonight. and flash flooding is still a major concern, with potentially up to 30 inches of rain predicted in some areas. let s go now to nbc news meteorologist michelle grossman for the latest on hurricane in. michelle, hurricane ian has been downgraded to a category one storm. what should residents in its path expect over the next 24 to 48 hours? i, they re great to see you. they can expect flood and rain we. need to prepare for that flash flooding. when it comes to water and hurricanes, that s the number one reason for deaths in hurricanes, it s the salt water, the storm surge that we talked about, and also fre
she. it s important to point out that the biden push was very different. a very sharp contrast to donald trump s handling of the situation. in a moment i will talk to congressman jim clyburn, a member of the democratic leadership, about that and the looming debt ceiling showdown with house republicans this week. plus more calls for the removal of serial liar george santos from office. we will look into his mysterious political fortune. in missouri, democratic women fight back against an effort to police what they wear. i spent 1200 dollars on a suit and i can t wear it in the peoples house because someone who doesn t have the range tells me it s inappropriate. and that s not why any of us were elected, mister speaker. none of us. and that is state representative rachel who will join me this hour to talk about her battle to bear arms. we start this hour at the top here with president biden and his allies defending their handling of classified materials as a third disco
and trajectory. it s expected to bring a catastrophic storm surge with winds over 150 miles per hour. the wind speed right now at 155 miles per hour. just shy of a category five storm. the eye of the storm is expected to churn somewhere between 40 meyers and venice, just south of where i am right now. hurricane ian has spawned multiple tornados in southern florida. a wide swath of florida is on alert through 5:00 p.m. today. already, alread more than 100,000 people are without power. more than 2 million people are under evacuation orders. hurricane ian is roiling seas. a big clue for what hurricane ian is capable of, cuban authorities has said the entire island has lost power. urgency and anticipation of the storm has mounted as we expect a very busy hour ahead. we ll hear from tampa s mayor in 30 minutes. we ll be speaking with sarasota officials on their own storm preparations and fema s assistant administrator. 30 minutes ago we heard from president biden. this storm is
and there you see it. a major storm heading for the tampa area that could deliver the first direct hit there in a century then not move for nearly two full days. already people in areas are ordered to leave. the local sheriff is warning anyone who defies the order and stays, you re on your own. we just received a new advisory from the national hurricane center. we re in the weather center with the very latest and new advisory. what does it say, tom? john, we don t have much in the way of changes except the pressure is dropping. and it usually takes a while when that pressure drops, the storm gets stronger. so what we re going to notice here is even though the winds have not changed, still 100 mile per hour sustained winds, they will start to increase now greatly. when that pressure drops, the equivalent to a stronger wind pattern. the they re just heat engines. they feed on that warm water. that warm water then as it rises up changes the energy and goes to wind the we re 13
weather center with the very latest. the new advisory, what does it say tom? well john, we don t have much the way changes except the pressure is dropping. i usually takes a while, when the pressure drops the storm get stronger. so we re gonna notice areas even though the winds have not changed, still 100 miles per hour sustained winds. they will start to increase. now when the pressure drops, the equivalent to a stronger wind pattern. in fact, these are just heat engines. they feed on that warm water. that warm water, then, as a rises up. change the kinetic energy and goes to wind. we are now about 130 miles from the land mass. but typically contracts with olena so break it down. there s already underwent a rapid intensification and will do it again. category four. i thought we had a category four passes close to tampa was in 1950. so there s a lot of people have never been through something like this. and even though john it goes before to a category one, they know attent