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Idalia is forecast to hit Florida’s west coast as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of up to 130 mph on Wednesday morning. Life-threatening flooding, a massive storm surge and strong winds are expected along Florida’s Gulf Coast, with the most intense winds and flooding near where the storm makes landfall, the National Hurricane Center said.
A 2 a.m. Wednesday update from NOAA’s National Hurricane Center noted that the storm, moving at 10-15 mph with maximum sustained winds clocked at 120 mph, had rapidly intensified into a major hurricane bringing catastrophic storm surge and destructive winds to the Florida coast.
Several counties along the Gulf of Mexico began evacuations on Monday for coastal communities and low-lying areas, and more evacuations were expected. An emergency order by Gov. Ron DeSantis covered 46 of the state’s 67 counties.
“This is going to be a major hurricane,” DeSantis said in a news conference Monday. “Please heed the directives from your local officials. Please make the appropriate accommodations and take the appropriate precautions.”
Hurricane warnings and watches were in effect from Apalachicola south to Port Charlotte. The governor recommended limited, local evacuations and urged people to seek higher ground without traveling hundreds of miles.
Follow Hurricane Idalia’s path as storm makes landfall
Hurricane Idalia storm surge is expected to be significant
Idalia is expected to push a storm surge as high as 12 feet in some areas if it makes landfall at high tide, the hurricane center said.
Storm surge flooding − when water levels rise suddenly along the beach and coastal waterways − is one of the greatest threats to life and property during a hurricane, and it has been a leading cause of hurricane-related deaths in the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The hurricane center concluded storm surge was the deadliest hazard during Hurricane Ian last fall, claiming 41 lives.
How storm surge works:Graphics explain the deadly weather event.
Atlantic storms that formed in August
Track the flood risk from Hurricane Idalia
As much as 4 to 8 inches of rain is expected across portions of Florida’s west coast, the Florida Panhandle, southeast Georgia and the eastern Carolinas Tuesday into Thursday, according to a public advisory from the hurricane center Monday.
This rainfall may lead to flash and urban flooding. Areas of flash flooding are expected across portions of Florida’s west coast, the Florida Panhandle and southern Georgia, according to the hurricane center.
Isolated rainfall amounts of up to 12 inches are possible near where the storm makes landfall.
Contributing: Shawn J. Sullivan and Anna Kaufman.
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