Several truck stops close ahead of Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Ian has resulted in closures among several truck stops.

Love’s is monitoring the weather developments of Hurricane Ian as it reaches Florida. The Trucker reported that Love’s is taking precautions and increasing fuel and food deliveries to serve customers as long it is possible to do so safely.

Love’s store closures include:

• Exit 143, Interstate 75, 17308 Park 78 Drive, North Fort Myers, Florida.
• Exit SR 78, 23073 N. U.S. Highway 27, Moore Haven, Florida.

Pilot J also has closed some stores, citing safety as their number one concern. These include:

• Pilot No. 352, Fort Myers, Florida.
• Pilot No. 94, Punta Gorda, Florida.
• One9 No. 89, Ellenton, Florida.

After strengthening to the most dangerous Category 5 status, Ian’s strongest winds began hitting Florida’s southwest coast on Wednesday, lashing the state with heavy rain and pushing a devastating storm surge. According to the National Hurricane Center, Ian grew to a catastrophic Category 4 hurricane overnight, fueled by warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, with top winds of 155 mph.

The storm plodded north of the densely populated Fort Myers area, which forecasters said could be inundated by a storm surge of up to 18 feet. As reported by The Trucker, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said early Wednesday, “This is going to be a nasty nasty day, two days,” stressing that people in Ian’s path along the coast should rush to the safest possible shelter and stay there.