Greenbu greenberg. Tonight the number of people in florida ordered to evacuate topped 6 million as we get a better picture of when and where the potentially catastrophic hurricane will hit. Heres what we know right now. Ir irma is expected to strengthen before it makes landfall in florida, but the state is already feeling the impact of the hurricanes power. 32,000 people are already without power. The storm surge can be anywhere between 5 and 15 feet, enough to completely cover cars and houses. More than 50,000 people in florida have already taken to shelters and there are even more shelters opening up. Nbc 10 National CorrespondentSarah Rosario has the latest. Reporter the onslaught has begun. What youre seeing there are the outer bands of irma. Reporter heavy rain and winds already lashing the miami area. Even with the brunt of the hurricane, a full day away in the florida keys, water lapping up on the only way in or out. The storm is here. Hurricane irma is now impacting our state. Reporter the massive storm scraping the northern coast of cuba today. Expected to turn northward overnight. Kind of looks like southwest florida then up into the tampa area later on sunday into monday. Reporter that jog westward putting a lot of people who thought theyd be spared irmas worst right in the storms cross hairs, and suddenly preparing for catastrophe. More than 6 million ordered to get out. You need to leave right now. Reporter hundreds of thousands are seeking shelter tonight along the florida gulf coast. Some waiting if line for hours for a safe place. Theyre telling us we have a chance of having 6 to 12 feet of storm surge which ive been here since 1986, weve never seen that. Reporter seen here in astonishing video from hurricane hunters. Irma is also expected to dump up to a foot of rain and bring winds of more than 120 miles her pour. Our state has never seen anything like it. Reporter as Hurricane Irma inches closer. Here along the intercoastal waterway the bridge behind me is now shut down. Int int leaving no more access to ft. Lauderdale beach. A mandatory Evacuation Order in effect right now which means any residents on the beach when the storm hits will be on their own. Reporting in ft. Lauderdale, sarah ra daughtosario, nbc 4 ne taking a live look in florida, this is coconut grove. See the gray skies and conditions slowly getting worse as the area braces for the hurricane. Heres another look at the fish first alert weather radar. The storm is expected to gain strength before hitting florida early tomorrow morning. Nbc 10s erika martin here to time out the hurricane and what we can expect. Such a serious situation, erika. Yeah, you know, ted, i have a couple facts i want to point out before we get to that radar. Well track it for you. Landfall is likely as a category 4 for the coast of florida. Catastrophic damage for people, pets and property. Conditions are definitely going to be catastrophic to say the least. Hurricaneforce winds extend 70 miles and tropicalstormforce winds extend 195 miles. Lets put that into perspective. Its approximately, the florida peninsula is approximately 16 o miles wide. So those tropicalstorm winds are wider than the actual peninsula. Were already seeing some beach erosion by miami beach has already reported approximately four feet of beach erosion so thats something were definitely going to be observing for you. A huge concern for us, as far as meteorology is concerned. Now, last night, irma did make landfall in cuba as a category 5 and of course now were watching it move through the florida straits and how it will likely strengthen once it gets here. So here it is. Were going to get this into motion. Currently a category 3. Hurricane irma. As we track it through the florida straits, it looks like its going to make landfall sometime tomorrow. Initially it showed Early Morning hours on sunday but because it has slowed down a bit, were expecting landfall by id say sunday morning, perhaps late morning early afternoon hours. Be sure you follow us on social media nextphiladelphia. The story continues. Once it makes landfall, it looks like it will continue to be a hush f hurricane for quite some time zblchbl. Florida is seeing a max exodus as hundreds of thousands leave the state for safety. Nbc 10s aundrea clinethomas is live at Philadelphia International airport. Youre talking to people who just arrived in our area rp thats right, ted. First i want to show you a different view of irmas impact. Take a look at the arrivals board here at the airport. A lot more red on this board. See see flights that were supposed to come into philly from orlando, theyre canceled. The same is true over here from flights from nassau. Thats the bahamas. Montego bay, jamaica, miami and jacksonville, florida. But as you said, we were able to talk to some lucky passengers who arrived here in philly from tampa. This was what they had to say. When we took off, everybody kind of applauded on the plane. They knew we were, like, the last flight out. That was kind of a little scary. Supposed to be in cuba for two days. Stayed for one day. Said we were going back. A day early. Reporter some vacations had to be cut short. Everybody was just trying to get out of irmas path. And there was a sense of relief to touch down here in philadelphia as the board indicates with all of these canceled flights. Folk who have not left florida, for example, theres no chance that theyre going to get on a flight now. Reporting live from philadelphias international airport, aundrea clinethomas, nbc 10 news. Take a look at this. Hundreds of people lined up outside this shelter in lee county, florida. Many people brought their belongings and their pets. Saying they stood in line for hours to get inside this arena which cab seat more than 7,000 people. Help is already pouring in for what irma may bring. And those suffering from harvey. Today in pennsauken, camden county, police, fire and First Responders took a break from helping residents to help people they dont even know. They set up tables at several locations to collect donations for hurricane victims in florida and texas. One by one, people pulled up and popped their trunks to drop off clothes, toiletries and bottled water. Feel bad about the people thats suffering, what theyre going through. I just wanted to help out and, you know, do what i can. Think if we can help someone out, maybe they dont even have to know our name, that thats a good thing. All of the donations will go directly to organizations actively helping in the relief efforts. Tens of thousands of people in florida are already without electricity because of hurricane ir irma, and tomorrow utility crews from delaware and new jersey are set to head south to help with what will likely be a massive effort to restore power. Pse g sending 154 employees to lake city, florida, for a deployment expected to last three two four weeks. Delmarva and Atlantic City electric are sending more than 70 employees and 180 contractors. Coming up in just a few minutes, well get a live update from Nbcs Lester Holt from ft. Myers ahead of a special edition of nbc nightly news, thats next at 6 30. And nbc 10 is with you every step of the way as we track irmas potentially historic devastation. You can always get instant updates and alerts with the nbc 10 app. Other news now, the fire that destroyed this home in wilmington has been ruled accidental. The blaze in the Boxwood Development started yesterday afternoon. Investigators Say Something was left on the kitchen stove unattended. Three people were hurt including two firefighters. Paramedics tried to revive a dog found at the scene, but they were unsuccessful. The house sustained an estimated 1 150,000 in damage. Next on nbc 10 news at 6 00, up in flames. A bus trip on the highway quickly turns into a dozens. What the driver noticed just before this fire. And in case of emergency. The scene at Philadelphia International airport involving dozens of First Responders. Did you know slow internet can actually hold your business back . Say goodbye to slow downloads, slow backups, slow everything. Comcast business offers blazing fast and reliable internet thats up to 16 times faster than slow internet from the phone company. Say hello to faster downloads with internet speeds up to 250 megabits per second. Get fast internet and add phone and tv now for only 24. 90 more per month. Our lowest price ever on this offer. But only for a limited time. Call today. Comcast business. Built for business. Comcast business. At longhorn, tonights special, the Great American steak dinner for 12. 99. A centercut sirloin with a side, plus a starter, or dessert. And for lunch, try one of our new burgers. Like the bbq bacon burger. You cant fake steak. Local kids got some oneonone time with experienced basketball coaches at todays healthy hoops event in south ni philadelphia. In addition to time on the court, the kids and their parents learned about managing asthma and weight through proper nutrition and exercise. There were health screenings, childrens yoga and educational workshops. Many of our patient s or members are not aware they have asthma and how to control asthma. If they do have asthma, they dont understand there are medications, how to use the medications to control their asthma. For 15 years, healthy hoops has helped families learn that asthma doesnt have to stand in the way of being active. Tonight, new details on a controversial arrest involving a nurse. Coming up, what were learning about one of the officers who made that arrest and what he was told just before it happened. Eri karkk . Ted, were tracking the tropics. Not only are we tracking Hurricane Irma, were also keeping a watchful eye on hurricane jose. Coming up on the other side of the break, well talk more about both the hurricanes. Ostriches dont really stick their heads in the sand. A peanut is not a nut. And a real john deere. Is actually real affordable. You learn something new every day. The surprisingly affordable john deere e series tractors. Now you can own americas tractor for just 99 a month. Learn more at your john deere dealer. All right. Lets take you live right now to Deerfield Beach, florida, as that state braces for Hurricane Irmas wrath. Nbc 10s tim furlong joins us there live. Tim, it looks like its already getting pretty nasty. Reporter yeah, ted, i bet its a lot nicer at the jersey shore right now. Deerfield beach, the wind is winning through. Tr trying to keep my hat on here. The surf is pounding at the Deerfield Beach pier. See the wind up here, too. This is what were dealing with, concerned about. The storm surge in south florida might not be as bad as they originally thought. Thats great news. The wind is still real bad. Theres a lot of coconuts up there. Have to be very careful. Thousands in south florida are without power at this point and everybody in the eastern side of federal highway, a1a that runs down this part of florida, theyve been told they have to evacuate. Not allowed out here. There are Police Officers we had to show Homeland Security papers to to get over the bridge to the beach. They said youre going to do your job for a little while then get out of here, dont want people out here any longer than they have to be and any nonessential personnel, if they see you out here, theyre going to kick you right out. The water is coming up real high. Somebody told me this beach is usually a lot longer than this and theres never any seaweed. See how the ocean is churning. The rain is pouring. Weve had these bands, the first bands of irma coming through here and whipping down huge amounts of rain like youre drenched to the core kind of rain. As it comes through. Then it will stop for a while. Really hot and humid to cold for a little while. Its been a strange mix of south Florida Weather as irma continues to roll in. Doesnt like were on the east coast of florida going to get the worst of this but were by no means out of the woods yet and taking precautions still telling people, i know youre getting cabin fever sitting inside your house with the storm shutters up, its dark, but most people still have power, can watch tv, relax, just hang out, stick with it a little longer and keep you and your family safe. Live in Deerfield Beach, florida, tim furlong, nbc 10 news. All right, tim, thank you so much. Were thinking about the safety of you and your crew as well. Thanks again, tim. Also tonight, new details out of the Lehigh Valley of a Police Officer was shot in the line of duty. Heres what happened. A homeowner in Whitehall Township called police early this morning to report a burglary. He said there were intruders in his home and that he was armed and hiding in a closet. The officers got into the house through the basement door and started looking for the burglars but the homeowner ended up shooting one of the officers with a shotgun. That officer was hit in the thigh and treated at a local hospital. The homeowner was eventually arrested. The officers did not fire back and theyre still looking for any possible burglary suspects. Happening right now in new castle county, First Responders have recovered a body from the Christina River after a car plunged into the water. This is happening right now behind joes crab shack in wilmington. Were working to find out how that car ended up in the river. Preparing for an aviation disaster at Philadelphia International airport. Emergency crews, law enforcers and airport staffers were put to the test today during a fullscale drill simulating a mass casualty incident. The scenario involved an americanairlines jet that broke apart and burst into flames after being forced down onto the runway by weather conditions while trying to abort a landing during a severe thunderstorm. All Certified Commercial Service airports are required by federal law to conduct exercises like this once every three years. More help for houston. A truck filled with donations took off today from rio grande, cape may county. United uniforms, a First Responders supply center, collected donations from all over the can county for harvey victims. Today those donations including 600 kits made by a local girl scout troupe were loaded on jb to a truck flnow headed for fxt bracing for Hurricane Irma, storm expected to strengthen before making landfall in florida hours from now. Nbc 10 first alert malgs eteorot erika martin joins us with the new details. Right now Hurricane Irma is a category 3 hurricane however we are expecting her to strengthen as she continues to work her way toward florida because the sea surface temperatures are so warm. Upper 80s to low 90s. Now, the current winds are 125 Miles Per Hour and its moving slower westnorthwesterly at 9 Miles Per Hour. Thats pretty alarming simply because the more time it has to spend out in that nice, warm water, the more time it has to continue to strengthen, eventually becoming a category 4 hurricane. So lets track this for you and time this out. We can see here that as it continues to work its way through the straits of florida, at approximately 2 00 a. M. , it becomes a category 4 hurricane. So it does start to strengthen and sustains that strength pond landfall. Initially models showed landfall sometime early sunday morning, now because it has slowed down, it looks like it will be late morning, possibly early afternoon, but of course, if you download the free nbc 10 app, we will keep you updated on that. So sunday, 2 00 p. M. In the afternoon, were still seeing sustained wind speeds at 140 Miles Per Hour which still makes it a category 4. As it continues to move up from south to north across florida, notice that it still encounters some warm water just to the west around the gulf. Now, the issue here is that it continues to move its way toward georgia as a category 3 hurricane. And once it actually hits atlanta, mods right now still have it as a hurricane. Category 1. Now, locally, were very fortunate because conditions are perfect. Fair weather clouds. Thats all were seeing this evening. Current temperature, 68 degrees. Even though we are seeing temperatures that are slightly cooler than average. Nothing to complain about around here. Vineland at 71 degrees. Mt. Holly, 65 for you. Allentown 6 4. Wilmington currently at 69 degrees. Conditions are chillier than average, ted, but not much to complain about. The next couple hours, mostly clear to clear skies. Again, very quiet around here. Perfectly great for outdoor activities. I to try to get to this one graphic very quickly because not only are we tracking irma, were also tracking hurricane jose. Right now the european model, we talked about this in a facebook live, is favoring some type of landfall. So we have to keep you posted. You will be closely watching where that heads. Yeah. Along with irma, of course. Well check in with you again at 11 00. Heres danfy. Thank you very much, Danny Pommells from csn. Eagles football eve in philly. Were setting the table. Coming up, we hear from carson wentz on facing a division rival to open the season tomorrow in d. C. Can you feel it . Footballs in the air. Were right back. Time now to check in with lester holt for a look at whats coming up on nbc nightly news live tonight from ft. Myers, florida, of course one of the areas along the gulf bracing for irma. Lester, good evening. Reporter hi, ted. Good evening. Coming up, the latest from here in florida as Hurricane Irma takes aim at this state and beyond. More than 7 million now being urged to evacuate. Plus, the scramble to find safe havens. Long lines today as people moved to newly opened shelters. Also taking care of some of the most vulnerable and why moving them away from irmas path may not be the best idea. And we spend time with some of the First Responders getting ready for impact here in florida when we see you coming up in a few minutes on nbc nightly news. Ted, back to you. Lester, thank you, see you at 6 30. A bus goes up in flames on a highway leaving 40 passengers in the middle of the road. This happened earlier this morning in japan. Driver noticed the engine light go off. Then smoke and fire in his rearview mirror. So he pulled over and minutes later, this happened. Luckily, everyone got out safely. An update tonight on the rough arrest of a nurse in utah that made national headlines. [ screaming ] probably remember the controversy started over a blood sample. Salt lake city officers wanted from a driver involved in a crash. Because of the hospitals policy, the nurse refused and was then handcuffed. Weve now learned the officer arrested the nurse even after investigators told him not to worry about the blood sample. That officer is now on paid leave. This is sports desk brought to you by xfinity. X1 from xfinity will change the way you experience tv. Hey, hey, donny pommells with you once again. Your friendly neighborhood sportscaster with all the eagles football, here in about 18 hours time. The eagles in washington will be on the field if landover for the season open. Year two of the Doug Pederson carson wentz duo. Year one started with a bang but faded down the stretch. Several key additions on offense as well as a few on d, expectations hot for the birds this season. What better way to get things started than with a division foe . Definitely more excited because its week one, but to go down in washington, divisional rival, to start the year, couldnt ask for a better scenario. Honestly. Its an exciting time and like you said, we both are kind of aware of each other, know everyones tendencies. They a new defensive coordinator. Different things. But at the end of day, going to come down to players making play and have to handle l that environment. I believe we can do that. Its going to be a fun one on sunday. We think of villanova and temple athletics, the first thing that comes to mind is a big five hoop the battle. Today not the case, though. City bragging rights on the line on the gridiron in south philly. May mayors cup on the line today. Not a lot of offense. Nothing on the scoreboard for the cats. Capped off by nick shargas one yard touchdown run. Right now, get this, 1310 owls in the fourth quarter. The wildcats making e ining it hoops now, most anticipated sixers season in recent memory a little over a month from beginning. Everyone waiting to see the process pay off. This could be the season. Today at the teams practice fill in camp camden, dr. J. Hosted a camp, markelle fultz, and hopefully a healthy joel embiid this season. The three of them makes the future start to round into shape. I think we should make a good run at the playoffs. You know, theres enough youn l talent on the team and system is good enough. Its proven itself. You know, that we can keep a healthy team out there and we should be able to make a run at the playoffs. That Bluetooth Headset around the neck a true old head indicat indicator. Im Danny Pommells from csn, back to you. Danny, thank you zblchblgs a. All eyes on irma. Expect it to increase in strength becoming a category 4 among landfall sometime tomorrow. Tim out there live. And lester holt live in minutes on nbc nightly news. Have a good night. Could be the most catastrophic storm in floridas history. The desperate escape from Hurricane Irma with 7 million urged to get out of harms way, while theres still time. With irma now targeting floridas west coast, the governor warns of a huge storm surge, telling residents it could cover your house. Tonight were on both coasts of florida with those taking shelter, some waiting in long lines, and with those who choose not to leave, as the hurricane that has killed dozens moves toward its violent next act. Nightly news from florida begins right now. Announcer Hurricane Irma, this is nbc nightly news with lester holt, reporting tonight from ft. Myers