Idalia became a hurricane on Tuesday, threatening to bring deadly storm surge and dangerous winds to Florida’s Gulf Coast.
At 8 a.m. EDT Tuesday, Hurricane Idalia was about 320 miles (515 kilometers) south-southwest of Tampa, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph), the hurricane center said. Idalia was moving north at 14 mph (22 kph).
On the forecast track, the center of Idalia is forecast to move over the eastern Gulf of Mexico today, reach the Gulf coast of Florida within the Hurricane Warning area on Wednesday, and move close to the Carolina coastline on Thursday.
When Idalia reaches the Gulf of Florida, its rapid intensification will make Idalia an extremely dangerous Category 3 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Its projected path has the center making landfall in Florida’s Big Bend part of the Gulf Coast and heading inland between Gainesville and Tallahassee, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Forecasters predict it will reach peak sustained winds of 120 mph with gusts up to 150 mph and storm surge that could top 12 feet.
“This is going to be a major hurricane,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis from the state Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee late Monday. “It’s likely to continue strengthening all the way until impact and it could have catastrophic storm surge in your area.”
DeSantis on Monday expanded his executive order declaring a state of emergency to 46 counties, up from 33 on Saturday. In Central Florida, it now includes Seminole, Lake, and Volusia counties, but not Orange or Osceola.
A hurricane warning is in effect along the Florida coast from the middle of Longboat Key north to Indian Pass near Apalachicola including Tampa Bay as well as the Cuban province of Pinar del Rio.
A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.
A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Dry Tortugas and on Florida’s Gulf Coast from Chokoloskee north to Longboat Key as well as west of Indian Pass to Mexico Beach on the Panhandle.
Tropical storm warnings also remain in effect for Cuba’s Isle of Youth and Florida’s east coast from Sebastian Inlet north to Altamaha Sound, Georgia.
A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area.
“Right now, the biggest hazards are storm surge,” Robbie Berg, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, said Tuesday morning, the Associated Press is reporting. “We’re expecting a surge as much as 8 to 12 feet above normal tide levels in portions of the Big Bend area of Florida.”
