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Hurricane Ian strengthened into a Category 3 storm in the early hours of Tuesday morning (inset) and made landfall in western Cuba hitting the region with 125 mph winds. After barrelling its way through Cuba, the hurricane is forecast to strengthen even further over the warm Gulf of Mexico waters before reaching Florida as early as Wednesday as a Category 4 storm with top winds of 140mph. Local officials in Florida warned residents to 'get out now' as they ordered more than 300,000 people to evacuate their homes in Hillsborough - including Tampa - Manatee, and Hernando counties, with more expected to follow (right: Floridians flee homes). A surge of up to 10ft of ocean water and 10 inches of rain is predicted to drench the Tampa Bay area, with as much as 15 inches in isolated areas - enough water to inundate coastal communities. Terrified residents in Florida have been desperately digging huge trenches to redirect flood water from their homes while others have stripped supermarket shelves bare of water and essentials.
Floridians lined up for hours in Tampa to collect bags of sand and essentials from supermarkets as they prepared to bunker down ahead of the monster weather front. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in all 67 counties as he called up 7,000 National Guard members to help with the effort.
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This ain't the Windy City, Bro - this is Florida...
A man casually carrying a shotgun and claiming to be from Chicago walked into a Florida convenience store during an attempted robbery but walked out when a clerk displayed his own weapon, authorities said.
Rakim Stephen Tate, 32, made a bad decision that "became a worse decision" when he walked into a convenience store with a visible shotgun to his side, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office said Monday.
He is charged with openly carrying a prohibited weapon and attempted robbery with a firearm.
Tate walked around the store for a few seconds before a clerk out of view from a camera in the store is heard talking to him, according to security footage. The clerk apparently noticed Tate arming himself before he entered the store and went into a back room to arm himself with his personal weapon.
"I don't mean no harm, I'm just not from around here," Tate is heard saying while holding his weapon. "I got a big mother fucking gun, but I'm not from around here is what I'm saying. I'm from Chicago bro." Tate is heard asking the employee what kind of weapon he is holding. The employee responds before Tate slowly walks out of the store.
"He then fumbles for words, resorting to meaningless babble about being from Chicago," the sheriff's office said in a statement. "Words seem to fail you when your felony attempt is thwarted by lawful and righteous force."
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This is live, continuous coverage of tracking and wind and rainfall predictions. Very good and very informative coverage.
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This is a very big, well formed storm. No bout a doubt it, Bubba...
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The sheriffs in Santa Rosa and Escambia counties are actually OK with home and business owners "taking care of problems:" and saving LEOs and the courts time and expense.
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