The National Weather Service is not mincing words about the threat Florida might face from Hurricane Idalia.
The storm was closing in on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Tuesday afternoon with a projected landfall of Wednesday morning.
“Hurricane #Idalia will likely be an unprecedented event for many locations in the Florida Big Bend. Looking back through recorded history, NO major hurricanes have ever moved through the Apalachee Bay,” the weather service’s office in Tallahassee, Florida, posted in a series of warnings Tuesday.
“When you try to compare this storm to others, DON’T,” it said. “No one has seen this.”
#Idalia is strengthening and rapid intensification is still forecast to occur today and into landfall sometime Wednesday morning. A slight west shift in the track did occur but users are reminded to not focus on the center, impacts will occur over a large area. #FLwx #ALwx #GAwx pic.twitter.com/OpcWK4cXFD
— NWS Tallahassee (@NWSTallahassee) August 29, 2023
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The weather service said rising water could pose a serious threat.
“If you are ordered to evacuate, do NOT take that order lightly. Life threatening surge will begin to develop later tonight and especially on Wednesday morning/afternoon as #Idalia moves in. These values will likely make escape routes impassable,” it posted, warning that residents along the coast had “less than 15 hours to finish prep.”
Heavy rainfall and the potential for tornadoes are forecast as well. The threats for these hazards will be greatest generally along and east of where #Idalia will travel. Rain begins to move in tonight and the tornado threat will increase early Wed morning. #FLwx #ALwx #GAwx pic.twitter.com/WJ9IMb18hY
— NWS Tallahassee (@NWSTallahassee) August 29, 2023
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As of 2 p.m. Tuesday Eastern time, Idalia was 130 miles west-northwest of the Dry Tortugas and 240 miles south-southwest of Tampa. The Category 1 hurricane was moving north at 15 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
“A faster motion toward the north and north-northeast is expected through early Wednesday while Idalia approaches the Gulf Coast of Florida. A turn toward the northeast and east-northeast is forecast late Wednesday and Thursday, bringing the center of Idalia near or along the coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas,” the center’s update said.
“Rapid intensification is expected before landfall, and Idalia is forecast to be a major hurricane when it reaches the Gulf coast of Florida Wednesday morning,” it warned.
Hurricane Idalia update: The catastrophic storm surge could begin flooding Florida’s west coast as early as tonight, according to the National Hurricane Center’s latest update. https://t.co/Ro32X8tuFO
— South Florida Sun Sentinel (@SunSentinel) August 29, 2023
Rain will vary by location, with parts of Florida’s west coast and its Panhandle, southeast Georgia and the eastern parts of the Carolinas expected to get 4 to 8 inches of rain between Tuesday and Thursday. Parts of Florida near the storm’s landfall could see a foot of rain, the hurricane center predicted.
The peak storm surge, if it arrived at high tide, was estimated at 10 to 15 feet in the area between the Aucilla River and Yankeetown and 4 to 7 feet in Tampa Bay.
With evacuation orders and school closures already in effect, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged residents to get out of range of the surge, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
“If you’re there in that storm surge, you’re putting your life in jeopardy,” he said.
Governor Ron DeSantis Gives Update on Hurricane Idalia From Lake City Florida https://t.co/WclR1Xsgju
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) August 29, 2023
“Please heed those orders. You don’t have to leave the state. You don’t have to go hundreds of miles, you can go to a shelter in a different part of your county, go to a friend’s house in an area that is not going to be susceptible to the storm surge, or a hotel — all these things are good to do,” the governor said.
