Tropical Storm Idalia, which battered western Cuba, is expected to dramatically strengthen into a major hurricane before it hits Florida’s Gulf Coast, where officials ordered evacuations and urged residents to prepare for an expected landfall on Wednesday.
With strong winds and life-threatening storm surge (the rise of water generated by a storm), the hurricane is set to hit at Category 3 strength, and Idalia may bust precedent as the first major hurricane in at least 172 years to crash into Apalachee Bay, according to the National Hurricane Center and its Tallahassee office.
At 8 AM on Tuesday, Idalia had top sustained winds of 80 miles per hour and was zipping north at 14 mph about 320 miles southwest of Tampa.
“This is going to be a major hurricane,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis from the state Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee late on Monday. The governor’s latest executive order proclaimed a state of emergency in 46 Florida counties. “It’s likely to continue strengthening all the way until impact and it could have catastrophic storm surge in your area.”
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, President Joe Biden has also approved an emergency declaration.
