Tropical Storm Idalia is expected to hit Florida after intensifying into a category 3 hurricane, with fears that the storm could bring “life-threatening” surges and flooding.
The storm was located near the coast of Cuba on Sunday on a potential track to come ashore as a hurricane in the southern US by Tuesday or Wednesday morning, the National Hurricane Center said.
Forecasters said they expected Idalia to become a hurricane on Tuesday in the Gulf of Mexico and then curve northeast toward the west coast of Florida. The storm is currently packing maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kmh).
A state of emergency was issued for half of Florida’s counties on Saturday, with governor Ron DeSantis asking residents to “have a plan and a stocked supply kit and follow @FLSERT for updates.”
“This thing hasn’t even gotten to Cuba yet, and the water in the Gulf is very, very warm and so that will provide some fuel for this thing to pick up some more speed,” Florida governor Ron DeSantis said at a briefing on Sunday.
Lightning flashes as Tropical Storm Idalia forecast to hit Florida
DeSantis leaves campaign trail and returns to Florida
A day after appearing in Iowa, governor Ron DeSantis was back in the state capital of Tallahassee on Sunday for a news conference on Tropical Storm Idalia. He urged Floridians to heed the advice of emergency managers.
Mr DeSantis said in a statement that he issued his executive order “out of an abundance of caution to ensure that the Florida Division of Emergency Management can begin staging resources and Floridians have plenty of time to prepare their families for a storm next week.”
“I encourage Floridians to have a plan in place and ensure that their hurricane supply kit is stocked,” he said.
Forecast models have the storm curving to the northeast toward Florida, coming ashore along the Gulf coast north of Tampa near the Big Bend area and then heading diagonally across the state to emerge again in the Atlantic Ocean near southeast Georgia.
Another tropical storm, Hurricane Franklin, gains strength and takes aim at Bermuda
Hurricane Franklin, another storm formed in the Atlantic apart from Idalia, is forecast to become the Atlantic’s first major hurricane of the season on Monday.
The storm is on track to pass close to Bermuda on Wednesday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
At around 11pm Eastern time (0300 GMT), Franklin was about 530 miles (855 km) southwest of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds nearing 105 mph (165 kph), the Miami-based centre said in an advisory.
“Additional strengthening is forecast, and Franklin is forecast to become a major hurricane on Monday,” the advisory said.
A tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of above 110 mph (177 kph) or higher is considered a major hurricane.
Storm Idalia to become hurricane as it barrels towards Florida
Tropical Storm Idalia is expected to hit Florida after intensifying into a category 2 hurricane this week, with fears that the storm could bring “life-threatening” surges and flooding.
The storm was located near the coast of Cuba on Sunday night on a potential track to come ashore as a hurricane in the southern US by Tuesday or Wednesday morning, the National Hurricane Center said.
At 10pm CDT on Sunday, the storm was about 145 miles (235 kilometres) off the western tip of Cuba with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kmh). The storm was stationary at the time, the hurricane center said.
Forecasters said they expected Idalia to become a hurricane on Tuesday in the Gulf of Mexico and then curve northeast toward the west coast of Florida.
Idalia could approach Florida on Wednesday with winds of up to 100 mph (160 kph), according to the latest forecasts from the Hurricane Center. That would make it a Category 2 hurricane.
