Florida - Tuesday August 29, 2023: The National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicts Idalia will make landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast late Tuesday night, or early Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane with winds over 110 mph.
Portions of Florida’s west coast were placed under hurricane and storm surge watches on Sunday evening. There is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge, flooding from heavy rainfall, and hurricane-force winds along portions of the west coast from Tampa to Panama City beginning as early as Tuesday.
Officials say that storm surge remains the primary concern and residents along the west coast and in the panhandle should closely monitor updates to the forecast, and have their hurricane plan in place.
EAST COAST
While the heaviest winds and rainfall from Idalia are currently forecast to fall along the Gulf Coast and the Florida Peninsula, one to two inches of rain from Monday afternoon through Wednesday night is expected for east coastal areas and Okeechobee County, and two to four inches are expected from Brevard and Osceola Counties northward, with locally higher amounts possible.
The Florida Public Radio Emergency Network (FPREN)lists these key points about the approaching storm:
- Impacts will be felt well outside the cone so everyone along the Gulf Coast needs to make preparations.
- Residents are encouraged to start preps today, and to be careful due to the high heat.
- For now, tropical storm conditions are expected to start hitting the Gulf Coast on Tuesday, so preps need to be completed by Monday evening.
- Coastal areas can expect 3-6”of rain on average, locally up to 10”+.
- Storm surge forecast maps have not been posted yet but most areas along the Gulf can expect inundations in the 1–4-foot range with a Cat 1. But the Big Bend Coast is much more susceptible and will need to plan for inundations possibly up to 10 feet.
- A supermoon Tuesday into Wednesday may increase the flooding and storm surge threats.
