Hurricane, Tropical Storm and Storm Surge Watches have been issued for parts of Florida as the state prepares for potential landfall of Idalia.
Hurricane, Tropical Storm and Storm Surge Watches have been issued for parts of Florida as the state prepares for potential landfall of Idalia.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) upgraded Tropical Depression Ten near the southern Gulf of Mexico to Tropical Storm Idalia on Sunday, with landfall expected as a hurricane along Florida’s Gulf Coast later this week.
There are only a few days left for Florida residents to prepare for the effects of the storm, and Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 33 counties to ensure communities have the resources they need ahead of the storm’s arrival.
DeSantis said in a news conference on Sunday that everyone along Florida’s Gulf Coast needs to prepare.
The governor urged residents not to wait to get ready if they are outside the storm’s cone of uncertainty, recalling the forecast for Hurricane Ian last year, which at one point had a potential landfall in the Florida Panhandle.
Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida as a major hurricane.
“The models are probably more in agreement than when we had Ian last year. But these things can shift. There’s still some uncertainty out there,” DeSantis said.
The FOX Forecast Center does a post-analysis of data after any tropical system makes landfall to determine the agreement and accuracy of forecast models.
The NHC issued a Storm Surge Watch, Hurricane Watch and Tropical Storm Watch for the parts of the Gulf Coast of Florida on Sunday.
More watches and warnings may be issued for other areas along Florida’s Gulf Coast in the coming days.
Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie said storm surge was the number one cause of death during Hurricane Ian.
“Do not focus on just the cone. The cone is where the eye could go, but those hurricane-force winds and tropical-storm-force winds will extend far beyond what the cone represents,” Guthrie said. “We will have storm surge warnings and watches in the coming days.”
DeSantis said power companies will begin staging linemen on Monday.
More than 1,000 National Guardsmen have been mobilized and can use high-water vehicles as well as aircraft for rescue and recovery efforts.
Idalia is forecast to become a hurricane over the eastern Gulf of Mexico by Tuesday, and the NHC is warning residents that there is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge, flooding due to torrential rain and hurricane-force winds along portions of Florida’s west coast and the Florida Panhandle beginning as early as Tuesday.
