Hurricane Idalia, which is the latest severe storm expected to hit the United States, is projected to make landfall in the U.S. on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Idalia, which strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane Tuesday afternoon, triggered evacuations and states of emergency in the southeast. Millions have been placed under a severe weather watch in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. The hurricane could also cause tornadoes in Florida as early as Tuesday.
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“This is going to be a major hurricane,” Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said at a news conference on Monday.
Where is the hurricane headed?
The Category 2 hurricane is located over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, just under 200 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida. It is moving northward at a speed of 16 miles per hour, and it has maximum sustained winds as fast as 100 miles per hour, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday evening. Category 2 hurricanes have sustained winds of at least 96 miles per hour.
Idalia is expected to make landfall in Florida’s Big Bend area, which is where the panhandle meets the peninsula, as early as 7 a.m. EDT on Wednesday or as late as 11 a.m. Tampa Bay is included in the Big Bend area and is under evacuation orders.
The storm is also expected to affect 46 counties in Florida along its Gulf Coast, and evacuation orders have been recommended in 23 counties. Experts have also warned storm surges as high as 11 feet are possible for much of northwestern Florida and into the Panhandle. Storm surges account for nearly half of all hurricane-related fatalities, according to the NOAA, and is the reason behind the majority of storm evacuations.
7 AM CDT Tuesday Update: Idalia strengthening as it moves northward over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. There is a danger of life-threatening storm surge along portions of the Florida Gulf coast. Heavy rainfall has the potential to produce flash and urban flooding across… pic.twitter.com/ZlfnIKEe9j
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 29, 2023
Cedar Key Mayor Heath Davis has urged all citizens on the island to evacuate ahead of the hurricane, but close to 100 residents refuse to leave. Davis said all emergency services will stop on Tuesday evening when wind gusts in the area reach 39 miles per hour.
“It is imperative that our citizens realize that we’re very serious about that,” Davis told CNN Tuesday. “We can’t allow our employees, our staff, and in this case, because our community is so small, our friends and our family go out into the storm as bad as it’s going to be and put people in danger.”
Once Idalia makes landfall in Florida, the hurricane is expected to continue north through the eastern coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas on Wednesday and Thursday, but it is expected to decrease in strength as it travels north. North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida have all issued a state of emergency, which helps streamline state resources, including activating the state National Guard.
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Another hurricane, dubbed Hurricane Franklin, which is a Category 4 hurricane, is located off the east coast. However, Franklin is not likely to affect much of the U.S. and is expected to just skirt the southeastern coast and decrease Tuesday.
The storms happen to fall around the anniversary of the deadly Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2004.
