Story highlights Hurricane Irma's path shifted to threaten cities on Florida's west coast

Tampa's mayor says the city is expecting a storm surge of anywhere from 3 to 8 feet

(CNN) Tampa hasn't been hit by a major hurricane since 1921, but on Sunday it looked like Hurricane Irma was about to change that.

"We know that we are ground zero for Hurricane Irma," Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said at a Sunday morning news conference. "We have for 90 years avoided this day, but I think our day has come."

With about 3 million people, the Tampa Bay metropolitan area is the second-most populous in the state.

Buckhorn said areas along the Tampa Bay shoreline could expect a dangerous storm surge anywhere from 3 to 8 feet, adding that it would depend on where Irma went.

"What we really fear more than anything is that storm surge," Buckhorn told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Sunday.

Read More