Hurricane Idalia will intensify into an “extremely dangerous” major storm, bringing life-threatening winds and flooding as it tracks north toward Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Idalia is expected to make landfall Wednesday over a wide geographic area that includes Tampa, the National Hurricane Center said in an update at 5 a.m. ET. Its center was about 85 miles (135 kilometers) north of the western tip of Cuba, with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour.
It is expected to move through the eastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday and cross northern Florida before approaching the Carolina coast on Thursday.
If it reaches forecast Category 3 strength, with maximum sustained winds of at least 111 miles per hour, Idalia would be the first major hurricane to hit Florida since last September. That’s when Hurricane Ian slammed into the western part of the state as a Category 4 storm, killing at least 150 people and causing more than $112 billion in damage.
Depending on its exact path, Idalia could cause up to $10 billion in damage and losses, according to disaster modeling firm Enki Research. Idalia’s winds could jump 35 mph or more in a day, a burst of force that sometimes surprises officials and residents when a storm approaches.
Follow the latest track of Tropical Storm Idalia https://t.co/lZU7Ul5hR5
— Bloomberg Graphics (@BBGVisualData) August 27, 2023
Parts of Florida, southeastern Georgia and the eastern Carolinas will likely see up to 8 inches (20.3 centimeters) of rain through Thursday, with up to a foot possible in some isolated areas, the hurricane center said. Western Cuba could see flash floods and landslides. The swell and tides could combine to cause flooding, with water in Tampa Bay possibly rising as much as 8 feet (2.1 meters) above the ground.
Emergency declaration
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis extended an emergency declaration to cover 46 counties, with mandatory evacuation orders for several along the Gulf Coast. President Joe Biden approved federal emergency declarations for Florida, allowing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate relief efforts. Tampa International Airport will be closed on Tuesday.
“This is going to be a major hurricane, you could have a catastrophic storm surge in your area,” DeSantis said. “You could have a significant impact even if you are outside the cone, so please plan accordingly.”
The storm drenched large swaths of Cuba with rain on Monday. In Pinar del Río, the heart of Cuba’s tobacco industry, municipal authorities said they had moved and protected more than 580 tons of tobacco leaves amid “heavy rains.”
👉They protect 537 tons of tobacco and gather 45 more in warehouses and picks, in the face of the intense rains that will generate #TTDalia#MinasDeMatahambre #PinarDelRío pic.twitter.com/zPXZlNS9ev
— Matahambre Mines Assembly (@MinasMatahambre) August 28, 2023
Idalia is expected to remain in the eastern Gulf, away from offshore oil and natural gas production. Most of central Florida’s key citrus areas would not be severely affected, World Weather Inc. President Drew Lerner said. Florida is the leading supplier of orange juice to the US.
However, Idalia may affect agriculture throughout the South, as well as cause widespread power outages and land and air travel. Utilities said they were moving their crews to respond to possible outages caused by the storm.
According to Ned Bowman, executive director of the Florida Fuel Marketers Association. Meanwhile, demand for gasoline is increasing as Floridians brace for potential evacuations, as well as diesel for backup power generation, Bowman said.
To complicate matters, DeSantis said the state has identified 29 gas stations that recently received contaminated fuel. Citgo said Sunday it discovered contaminated fuel at its terminal in Tampa, Florida, and has asked vendors to stop selling the product. DeSantis said the incident likely won’t have a major impact on fuel supplies.
Florida is supplied primarily through waterborne shipments from refineries in Texas and Louisiana. The Coast Guard has closed the ports of Tampa, Manatee, St. Petersburg and Fort Myers to inbound traffic ahead of Idalia.
–With assistance from Carolynn Look, Dan Murtaugh, Jim Wyss, Sheela Tobben, Chunzi Xu, Anna Jean Kaiser, Immanual John Milton and Áine Quinn.
