Okeechobee County residents should be prepared to lose power when winds from Hurricane Irma hit the area.

According to the National Weather Service 5 p.m. forecast, tropical storm winds can be expected in Okeechobee County starting around sunrise Sunday to mid-morning Monday with damaging winds from mid-afternoon Sunday through early morning Monday. Some bands could hit the area earlier.

This forecast could change as the storm moves closer.

The area may also receive 8-12 inches of rainfall.

Okeechobee County Sheriff Noel Stephen advises all residents to stay indoors until the storm passes. The sheriff department is enforcing a countrywide curfew starting at 9 p.m. tonight.

Thousands of area residents have sought refuge in shelters as Hurricane Irma approaches Florida.

As of 5 p.m. on Saturday, Okeechobee County had opened two shelters. The primary shelter at South Elementary School is full with 506 persons; Osceola Middle School shelter had 330 persons and had room for another 350. If the OMS shelter is filled, a third shelter will be opened at Yearling Middle School. For more shelter information online go to http://www.co.okeechobee.fl.us/home.

Palm Beach County shelters had about 17,000 persons as of 5 p.m. Lee County had about 27,000. Hendry County had 1,400 persons in shelters. St. Lucie County had about 2,000.
For shelter information in Palm Beach County online, go to http://discover.pbcgov.org/publicsafety/dem/Publications/Shelters%20With%20Evac%20Zones.jpg.