Airlines canceled over 2,000 U.S. flights on Tuesday and Wednesday and some Florida airports halted operations as they braced for impact from Hurricane Ian, which was set to make landfall in the state.
on Tuesday and is forecast to become a dangerous category 4 storm over the warm waters of the Gulf, according to National Hurricane Center forecaster Eric Blake.of up to 130 mph and as much as 2 feet of rain to the Tampa area starting early on Wednesday through Thursday evening.
Both Tampa and St. Pete-Clearwater airports in southwest Florida halted operations on Tuesday, while the Sarasota Bradenton Airport will suspend operations at 8 p.m. and Orlando Airport will cease operations at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.Local residents fill sandbags, as Hurricane Ian spun toward the state carrying high winds, torrential rains and a powerful storm surge, at Ben T. Davis Beach in Tampa, Florida, U.S., September 26, 2022.