AccuWeather correspondent Leslie Hudson reported live from Clearfield, Florida, showcasing how business owners prepared for the worst on the day before Idalia's landfall.
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00:00 AccuWeather correspondent Leslie Huntsett is live in Clearwater, Florida with the details.
00:05 Leslie, thanks for joining us.
00:07 Absolutely. Yeah, things are definitely starting to notice that there is a lot of folks that have left this area
00:16 and are off the roads, and it looks like it's going to continue to be that way as we head through these next several hours.
00:21 Now, I was out in Clearwater Beach earlier today shooting video,
00:25 and I would say if I had to guesstimate, there was probably about 15 to 20 percent of the businesses that I saw
00:31 on that main strip that boarded up or put sandbags down in an abundance of caution.
00:36 But I will say that we are anticipating around a 47-foot surge as Adalia passes to the west as we get into the next 24 hours.
00:47 So a lot of folks wanted to go ahead and take those precautions.
00:51 A lot of people I talked to today said that at least this is very similar to what they experienced with Ian last year,
00:58 24 hours before they got their closest impact.
01:01 So in terms of wind, we've had some squalls move through here, heavy rain from time to time as well.
01:08 And as I mentioned, several of the businesses decided to go ahead and board up.
01:12 We talked to the owner of the Toucan Bar and Grill, and he decided to do just that.
01:18 We'll make it safe because you never know. I believe in life.
01:22 If I don't board it this year, we're going to be hit.
01:25 So I said, you know what? We're doing it.
01:28 You know, we're doing it because I don't want to get any damage.
01:36 Safe for everybody.
01:37 Now, I will say what most people saw last year when they saw Ian was a lot of sand and some localized flooding.
01:47 And that is what most people are expecting this year.
01:49 But again, because there's still a lot of time and there's many things that can happen.
01:54 Folks again in this region, in Clearwater Beach, went ahead and boarded up and put those sandbags out.
01:59 And you still have a little time here.
02:01 There are some areas around Clearwater where you can get sandbags.
02:05 And there are about 10 shelters currently open in Hillsborough County where I am.
02:10 One of those does take animals.
02:11 So if you have dogs, cats, birds, you can go to that shelter.
02:15 It is open and there are several people that are taking advantage of that use.
02:20 All right, for now, we are in Clearwater Beach reporting live.
02:22 I'm Leslie Hudson. Back to you.
02:24 All right, Leslie, thank you for that report.
02:25 Good to hear the urgency here with the residents.
02:28 We are going to dive our way here and quickly to a dahlia that is lifting its way off toward the north at 15 miles per hour.
02:34 Continuing to organize, continuing to strengthen landfall as we go into mid-morning on Wednesday.