Hurricane Idalia Projected to Hit Florida This Week

Tropical Storm Idalia is approaching Florida fast and may strengthen before it makes landfall. The latest forecasts from the National Weather Service show that the storm may be upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane by Wednesday morning, when it is expected to reach Florida’s Gulf Coast. Public officials are urging residents to take precautions ahead of this natural disaster.

Storm trackers measured Tropical Storm Idalia’s wind speeds at 65 miles per hour on Monday morning as it moved north of Cuba toward the U.S. To be classified as Hurricane Idalia, the storm will need to reach wind speeds of at least 74 miles per hour, but experts say it will likely go even higher. At 111 mile-per-hour winds, it will be a “major” Category 3 Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale used by the National Hurricane Center. That means “devastating damage will occur,” including damage to homes and property, uprooted trees and likely utility outages.

Right now, forecasts show Idalia reaching the Florida Panhandle late on Tuesday night or early on Wednesday morning. An advisory from the National Hurricane Center warns that this storm will heavily impact the entire Gulf Coast, but the storm is likely to make landfall specifically at the northern end of the peninsula. It will pass almost directly over Gainsville and Jacksonville, and then over coastal parts of Georgia before returning to the Atlantic Ocean and following the coast up South Carolina. Finally, by Friday morning it will be on its way out, away from land.

In practical terms, experts say the affected communities should be on the lookout for storm surges – some as high as 11 feet off the ground – as well as flash flooding around rivers. The Chassahowitzka and Aucilla Rivers are expected to swell for quite a while. They are also expecting flash flooding in densely populated areas and long power outages.

So far there have been no evacuation orders and the national services are coordinating with local agencies to determine their best move. The top recommendation for people in the storm’s path is to find out where timely updates from local officials will be available online and keep up with that advice in the days to come. Forecasts are subject to change.