Tropical Storm Idalia hurricane update: Florida declares a state of emergency as Category 2 storm with 100mph winds expected to make landfall sparking 11ft storm surges

A state of emergency has been declared in more than 30 Florida counties as Tropical Storm Idalia is expected to roll the coast as a Category 2 hurricane on Wednesday – with forecasters warn of storm surges, landslides and massive power outages.

Idalia is expected to develop into a hurricane Tuesday in the Gulf of Mexico, then curve northeast toward Florida’s west coast, where it could make landfall with winds up to 100 mph.

Along a wide swath of Florida’s west coast, up to 11 feet of ocean water could crash onto the coasts, raising fears of destructive flooding.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency across much of the state’s Gulf Coast on Saturday as the weather system strengthens.

“This thing hasn’t even arrived in Cuba yet, and the water in the Gulf is very, very hot and so that will provide fuel for this thing to pick up even more speed,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis’ statement covers the Gulf Coast, from the southwest city of Fort Myers all the way north to Panama City in the Panhandle.

Thirty-three of the state’s 67 counties are covered by the declaration.

The hurricane center says there’s a 70 percent chance the system will develop into a tropical storm by Monday and 90 percent overall.

Currently, it would be called “Idalia” if no other tropical storm formed before it. Forecast models do not show the center of the storm approaching areas of southwestern Florida where it is deadly. Hurricane Ian hit last year.

DeSantis said in a statement that he issued his executive order “out of an abundance of caution to ensure Florida’s Emergency Management Division can begin organizing resources and that Floridians have enough time to prepare their families for a storm. next week”.

“I encourage Floridians to have a plan in place and ensure their hurricane supply kit is stocked,” he added.

Florida emergency officials on Sunday urged residents to keep their vehicle’s gas tank at least half full in case they need to evacuate.

“This will ensure that you can evacuate dozens of miles inland to a safe location if needed,” the Florida Division of Emergency Management said on social media.

Florida has mobilized 1,100 members of the National Guard and “they have 2,400 flood vehicles at their disposal, as well as 12 aircraft that can be used for rescue and recovery efforts,” said DeSantis, the Republican governor. GOP candidate. presidential appointment.

“If you are in the path of this storm, you should expect power outages,” he added.

“So please be prepared for that especially if this storm does eventually come to the Tallahassee area there’s a lot of trees that are going to be down, power lines are going to be down – it’s just going to happen, so just be prepared for it and be able to do what you need to do.

Forecast models call for the storm to curve northeast toward Florida, making landfall along the Gulf Coast north of Tampa near the Big Bend area, then tracking diagonally across the state to emerge again in the Atlantic Ocean, near southeast Georgia.

So far this year, the East Coast of the United States has been spared from cyclones.

But in the west, Tropical Storm Hilary caused widespread flooding, mudslides and road closures earlier this month in Mexico, California, Nevada and parts of the north.

THE The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently said the 2023 hurricane season will be much busier than originally expected, in part due to extremely warm ocean temperatures. The season runs until November 30, with usually August and September as the peak.