Major chain truck stops and Waffle Houses are closing for Hurricane Ian

As Hurricane Ian strengthens and barrels down on Florida, truck stop chains have announced store closures to allow staff to evacuate and stay safe.

Forecasters predict that Ian will make landfall around 4 p.m. on Wednesday northwest of Fort Meyers as a life-threatening Category 4 storm edging towards Category 5 status, with wind speeds upwards of 155 m.p.h. Some parts of Florida will see as much as two feet of rain and storm surges of 18 feet are possible.

Waffle House restaurant closures, which are monitored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a gauge of how local communities are dealing with weather emergencies, have already begun. As of Wednesday morning, 11 Waffle House locations were closed ahead of Ian, according to USA Today.

Major truck stop chains have been monitoring Ian and attempting to stay open to provide fuel and supplies to first responders and community members. However, as of Wednesday morning, some stores have shut their doors to ensure the safety of employees.

See location closures below as of 1 p.m. (CST) on Wednesday:

Love’s Travel Stops

• Store 495 – Fort Myers, FL
• Store 683 – Moore Haven, FL

Pilot Flying J

• Pilot #352, Fort Myers, FL
• Pilot #94, Punta Gorda, FL
• One9 #89, Ellenton, FL
• Pilot #1128, Bartow, FL
• Pilot #471, Haines City, FL
• Flying J #625, Seffner, FL

TravelCenters of America

• No closures reported at this time