Hurricane Ian likely to bring high winds and catastrophic flooding to Polk
As Hurricane Ian inched closer to Polk County Wednesday, the arrival of wind and rain were ominous signs of the catastrophic flooding some fear is to come.
Ian was upgraded to a Category 4 storm as it crept toward the shore around 55 miles west of Naples on Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service in Tampa Bay. It was moving at a pace of 10 mph, with expected landfall Wednesday afternoon in Charlotte County before traveling a northeast across the state, on a path to take it across Polk County.
A Hurricane Warning has been issued for Polk with a Flood Warning in effect through Friday.
"Flooding is expected to be extreme. It's flooding we haven't seen in a long time and a lot of people haven't experienced in their lifetime," meteorologist Keily Delerme said at the National Weather Service's Tampa Bay office.
The storm system is expected to further slow down as it makes landfall, slowing to 5 to 7 mph, according to Delerme. It's expected to drop 12 to 18 inches of rain in Polk, with some areas receiving up to 24 inches by Friday.
Excessive flooding along the Peace River is a major concern in Polk. The river was at flood stage on Monday, well ahead of Ian's arrival. It has risen to 8.19 feet as of Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service's Advance Hydrologic Prediction Service, which anticipates it could rise above its all-time record of 11.1 feet in September 2004.
Bartow declared a state of emergency in anticipation of considerable flooding, an action that allows city leaders to spend money on hurricane-related preparations. Polk County and Lakeland have since taken similar actions.
The Polk County Emergency Operations Center put out an automated message Wednesday morning asking residents to evaluate potential flood impacts to their homes and safety.
“Emergency teams will not be able to rescue you during the storm,” the message went on.
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The county and Polk County Sheriff's Office encouraged those living in flood-prone areas to consider going to a shelter.
Polk opened 13 shelters across the county at noon Tuesday. Roughly 1,300 residents were gathered at these sites as of Wednesday morning, according to County spokeswoman Mianne Nelson.
Polk County Public Schools closed on Tuesday and will now remain shut through Friday. Many of the area's colleges, including Florida Polytechnic University, Florida Southern College and Southeastern University have canceled classes for the remainder of the week. Polk State College had yet to make a decision about Friday's classes of The Ledger's print deadline.
Major organizations and businesses have been rapidly preparing for Ian's impacts all week. Amazon canceled all of its cargo flights in and out of Lakeland Linder International Airport by Tuesday. The National Oceanic Atmosphere Administration's Hurricane Hunters relocated their aircraft and base of operations to Houston by Tuesday afternoon to stay ahead of the stormfront.
Tampa Bay evacuees began making their way east, away from storm surge expected along the coast. U.S. Military members ordered to evacuate MacDill Air Force Base found refuge at the Hyatt Place hotel at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
Major tourist attractions of Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales and Legoland Florida Resort shutdown Tuesday ahead of the storm, discouraging visitors from remaining in the area.
Lakeland-based Publix Super Markets closed stores in Spring Hill, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Lakeland, Clearwater, Cape Coral, Sarasota, Lehigh Acres, Bonita Springs, Naples and near Immokalee.
Lakeland Regional Health and Watson Clinic scaled back their daily operations ahead of the hurricane. Lakeland Regional has canceled all elective surgeries and physician office visits on Wednesday and Thursday. Its Emergency Department at the medical center will remain open through the storm. Watson Clinic has closed all its locations, including urgent care centers, through Thursday.
Gov. Ron DeSantis encouraged residents who had not left to "hunker down and prepare for the storm" on Wednesday morning, saying it was no longer safe to evacuate. There were more than 40,000 power outages reported across the state with more than 5,000 Floridans Guardsmen activated and five out of the eight state's search-and-rescue teams to search flooded areas once the hurricane passes.
Individuals with questions about Hurricane Ian or what resource may be available can call Polk's Citizen Information Line at 863-401-2234 or toll-free at 866-661-0228.
Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on Twitter @SaraWalshFl for storm updates.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk County's Hurricane Ian flooding likely to be catastrophic
