Colorado woman in path of Hurricane Ian's eye: 'we're built pretty tough'
Hurricane Ian flirted with Category 5 status as it made landfall on Florida's southwest coast on Wednesday. However, state officials warn the entire state will feel the impact - with torrential rain, catastrophic storm surge, even tornado threats.
"We woke to tornado sirens early this morning," said Chelsy Klein, a Coloradan who's in central Florida right now.
Klein spoke with CBS News Colorado via Zoom on Wednesday, describing what it's like preparing for the massive storm.
"I've never been through a hurricane before," she said. "We got our sandbags, we pulled everything in and we made sure to get gas in our tanks."
Klein is in Winter Haven, Florida with her partner and her father, who's visiting from Colorado Springs. She explained the Red Cross helped provide sandbags to people in the area yesterday, and they've been busy collecting candles, batteries and water purification tabs.
"We're as prepared as we possibly can be right now," Klein said.
Winter Haven is about 50 miles inland from Tampa, but Klein said she can feel the massive storm's impact. From whipping winds to rain and, at times, eerie silence.
"The crazy thing was the birds were out and they were chirping, and they were active yesterday morning," she described. "Then at about noon, it was silent. Complete silence. Like, no birds, no crickets, no nothing. That was a little disconcerting."
Until Wednesday morning, Klein said there was no official word on evacuations. But, as Ian picks up steam, that is changing. Still, her plan is to ride out the storm.
"Our rationale was to allow the people who are in the most dangerous area to save their own lives, because we are in an area where we should be probably fine," she said. "We're from Colorado. I remember living through the bomb cyclone in 2019…so it's not like we haven't been through extreme weather before. And, as Coloradans, we're built pretty tough."
As tough as she may be, Klein also knows Ian is packing a mighty punch. She feels prepared for what may be coming, even as the eye of the hurricane inches closer.
"Now it's just sitting and waiting for what comes next," Klein said.
