Fort Myers and Naples Hurricane Tracker
Southwest Florida learned what a worst-case surge looks like on September 28, 2022. Hurricane Ian made landfall at Cayo Costa as a Category 4 with 150 mph winds and pushed 10 to 15 feet of water across Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Pine Island, and Matlacha, with 12.7 feet measured at the Fort Myers Beach pier. The Sanibel Causeway collapsed, Fort Myers Beach's Times Square was erased, and 150 people died in Florida, most of them in Lee County and most from drowning, many of whom had stayed because Ian had been forecast to hit Tampa two days earlier.
Hurricane Charley in 2004 had made the same mistake in reverse, a Category 4 that turned late into Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte when Tampa was evacuating. Hurricane Irma in 2017 came in at Marco Island. Hurricane Helene in 2024 flooded Fort Myers Beach and Naples again as an offshore storm. The region rebuilt after Ian with higher elevations and a new causeway, but the geography is unchanged: shallow Gulf water, low barrier islands, Cape Coral's 400 miles of canals, and Naples sitting at 3 feet above sea level.
Radar
Composite radar, Southwest Florida.
Evacuation zones for Southwest Florida
Lee, Collier, and Charlotte counties each use Zones A through E and issue their own evacuation orders. All of the barrier islands, including Sanibel, Captiva, Fort Myers Beach, Pine Island, Marco Island, and Boca Grande, and most of Cape Coral and coastal Naples are in Zone A or B. Orders come from each county's emergency management agency and are issued zone by zone as a storm approaches.
Local emergency management, shelters and outages
Each county's emergency management office posts evacuation orders, shelter openings, and re-entry information. The local National Weather Service forecast offices issue watches and warnings, and the FPL Power Tracker shows real-time power status across the region.
- Lee County Emergency Management
- Lee County public shelters
- Collier County Emergency Management
- Collier County emergency assistance and shelters
- Charlotte County Emergency Management
- Charlotte County shelter listing
- NWS Tampa Bay Area (Ruskin), covers Lee and Charlotte
- NWS Miami, covers Collier County
- FPL Power Tracker outage map
- Florida Know Your Zone
What Southwest Florida should watch for
The cone shifting south is the region's recurring nightmare. Ian and Charley both turned east later than forecast and hit a region that had been watching Tampa. When the forecast cone covers anywhere from Tampa to Naples, this region prepares, because the difference between a Tampa landfall and a Fort Myers landfall can come down to a late wobble.
The barrier island bridges are the choke point. The Sanibel Causeway, the Matlacha bridge, the Fort Myers Beach bridges, and the Boca Grande causeway close at sustained winds around 40 mph, and Ian showed they can be destroyed entirely. Once they close or fail, everyone on the islands is staying, so leave Zone A before the wind picks up, not after.
Cape Coral's canal system brings surge miles inland, well past the beachfront, and the Caloosahatchee River backs up into downtown Fort Myers when a storm pushes water upriver. Homes that feel safely inland can take water through the canal and river network, so check your elevation and proximity to any waterway, not just the Gulf.
Ian's survivors describe water rising 10 feet in under an hour. Anyone in Zone A who waits to see the surge has waited too long. Treat a Zone A evacuation order as non-negotiable, and leave when it is issued, not when the water starts rising. Have enough water, food, and fuel for at least seven days, and run any generator at least 20 feet from any opening with a battery-operated carbon monoxide alarm inside.
Frequently asked questions
Is Fort Myers in an evacuation zone?
The barrier islands, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Pine Island, Cape Coral, and everything near the Caloosahatchee are in Zone A or B, the first zones ordered out. Zones are assigned by storm-surge risk, not by hurricane category or flood insurance zone, so a home that has never flooded can still be in Zone A. Look up your exact address with the Lee County resident information tool above before a storm threatens, because evacuation orders come by zone letter, not by city.
Where are the shelters in Fort Myers and Naples?
Lee County publishes a standing list of roughly 25 public shelters and opens them by storm. Collier and Charlotte list shelters of last resort. None of the shelters are on the barrier islands, so getting to one means crossing a bridge or causeway before it closes at sustained 40 mph winds. Pet-friendly shelters have limited space that requires advance registration and proof of vaccinations.
When was the last hurricane to hit Fort Myers?
Hurricane Milton in October 2024 made landfall to the north at Siesta Key and still brought wind and surge effects to the region. Hurricane Ian on September 28, 2022 was the direct hit, a Category 4 at Cayo Costa with 150 mph winds and a 10-to-15-foot surge that killed 150 people in Florida. No storm made landfall in Florida in 2025. Hurricane Charley in 2004 was the previous benchmark, a Category 4 that turned late into Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte.
How high did the surge get in Hurricane Ian?
Storm surge reached 10 to 15 feet across Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, and Pine Island, with 12.7 feet measured at the Fort Myers Beach pier. The National Hurricane Center calls it the worst surge in the region's recorded history. Water rose roughly 10 feet in under an hour in some areas, which is why anyone in Zone A who waited to see the surge had waited too long.
Free Hurricane Alerts by Text
Get a text when a storm forms or threatens the US coast. Unsubscribe any time.
We only text about active storms. No marketing, no spam.
Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies with storm activity. Reply STOP to cancel, HELP for help.