At a Glance

Long lines formed at stores, gas stations.Schools in the Tampa Bay area announced closures.President Biden approved an emergency assistance request from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, freeing up federal support.The Artemis I rocket launch scheduled for Tuesday was postponed because of Ian.

Residents waited in long lines for supplies, gas and sandbags on Sunday as school districts announced closures and the governor told the entire state to prepare for Ian.

The storm is expected to be a serious hurricane threat for Florida and parts of the northern Gulf Coast. See the full forecast .

Here's a look at the news from Sunday as preparations swung into high gear.

More University Closures Announced

in St. Petersburg is shutting down, including closing dorms, at 3 p.m. Monday.

T​he is canceling classes through at least Thursday. The college has campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota. For now, dorms remain open.

T​he is closing for the entire week, including canceling all classes and shutting down campus offices.

"The Hillsborough County Emergency Operations Center may call for an evacuation, starting as early as tomorrow afternoon," the university said in an . "If so, the institution will begin evacuating the campus, including the residence halls, at that time."

A​irlines Waiving Change Fees

Airlines including and are waiving change fees at more than a dozen Florida airports, including Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville. Dates and rules vary, so travelers should check with their individual airline for details.

C​ruise Ship Itineraries Change

A​t least one cruise ship, MSC Seashore, its schedule due to the storm, according to Cruise Hive. The ship left Miami on Saturday and originally planned to stop in Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Mexico.

T​ampa Bay Area Schools Announce Closures

S​chools in Hillsborough County, one of the largest districts in the nation with more than students, will close Monday through Thursday.

"County emergency officials will activate many of our schools as beginning Monday," the school district tweeted Sunday evening.

All P​inellas County Schools will Tuesday and Wednesday. Three schools will close early Monday to accommodate those sheltering with special needs. Those schools are: Palm Harbor University High School, Dunedin Middle School and John Hopkins Middle School. P​inellas is west of Tampa and includes the cities of St. Petersburg and Clearwater.

P​asco County, north of Tampa, will also all schools and district offices on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Prepare For Several Days Without Power

More than meals and 1 million gallons of water are being loaded into 360 trailers for distribution as needed in Florida, Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said in a Sunday briefing.

The state is also responding to 122 county-level requests for assistance, including generators, pumps and emergency personnel.

Guthrie also reminded residents that those who are in vulnerable buildings like mobile homes need to be ready to evacuate, even if they are not in a designated zone. Each county will send out their own alerts if that becomes necessary.

Those who aren't evacuated should prepare to shelter in place for several days without power, Guthrie said. He also urged those who don't need to leave to stay put, harkening back to the evacuation chaos during when, Gov. Ron DeSantis said, an estimated 2 million people were "overevacuated."

Residents Reminded To Practice Generator Safety

F​lorida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged residents to only operate generators outdoors and to follow other safety rules.

"The exhaust has to go ," DeSantis said in a news conference. "If it’s inside then that can be something that can be fatal.”

G​enerators should be operated at least from any enclosed or covered areas, including carports, Florida rooms and garages. The same applies to windows, doors and vents. Dozens of people have died of carbon monoxide poisoning after storms in recent years.

Tips For Florida Newcomers

Tens of thousands of newcomers move to Florida every year. Between April 2020 and July 2021 alone, the state's population grew by nearly , according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That doesn't include hundreds of thousands of others in recent years who haven't ever experienced a named storm before.

If you're a recent transplant, click for the most important things you need to know.

F​lorida Governor Warns Of Potential Evacuations

In a Sunday morning press conference, F​lorida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned the entire state that they needed to be prepared given the uncertainty in the forecast as the storm approaches the coast and because of the potential magnitude Ian. Desantis said that residents should expect power outages and fuel disruptions and also warned of potential evacuations to come in vulnerable areas.

"Just prepare that, with a hurricane of this magnitude, those are things that are likely to happen and it's more likely to happen where it's making landfall," De Santis said. "Even if you're not necessarily right in the eye, or the path of the storm, there's going to be pretty broad impacts throughout the state."

Shoppers wait in line outside a retail warehouse as people rush to prepare for Ian, in Kissimmee, Florida, on Sept. 25, 2022.

(GREGG NEWTON/AFP via Getty Images)

F​lorida University Orders Evacuation

Bethune Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida, starting at noon Monday, September 26th.

Federal Assistance Approved

P​resident Joe Biden, freeing up federal resources ahead of the storm to support preparation and relief and recovery efforts.

S​tatewide Emergency In Florida

F​lorida Gov. Ron DeSantis over conditions that were "expected to constitute a major disaster."

T​he order requested federal assistance ahead of the storm and mobilizes key state emergency resources, like the national guard, to do the same.

The governor's only covered 24 counties in the central and southern portions of the state, but the governor expanded it due to shifts in the forecast that implicated more of the state, and because of lingering uncertainty around Ian's final destination.

A​rtemis Launch Delayed

N​ASA's Artemis I spacecraft on Tuesday because of the threat of Ian.

The mission of the massive Artemis rocket is to send an unmanned Orion capsule into orbit around the moon in preparation for taking humans back to the lunar surface within the next couple of years and, in the future, farther into deep space.

It's faced a series of technical setbacks and has .

Florida: K​now Your Evacuation Zone

I​f you or someone you know lives in Florida, it's essential to know what evacuation zone you're in before evacuations are issued by local authorities.

Zones, rated from A to L, with A being the zone that's most at risk of serious impacts from the storm. For more on zones, .

T​o find your zone,

M​ore on Ian, Hurricanes and Tropical Storms

H​ere are links to more of our coverage related to this storm:

-​Storm Tracker

-Ian Impacts Could Expand Beyond Coastal Areas

-Here's When Ian Could Affect Florida

-​12 Things You May Not Know About Your Hurricane Forecast

-Spaghetti Models: Four Things You Need To Know To Track Storms Like The Pros

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, .