Idalia could hit the Florida Panhandle as a hurricane and Franklin is already the Atlantic season’s first major hurricane, forecasters said.
Two storms were in intensifying early Monday as the new Atlantic hurricane season was getting into full swing.
Tropical Storm Idalia was near the coast of Cuba Monday on a potential track to come ashore as a hurricane in the southern U.S., the National Hurricane Center said.
At 5 a.m. EDT Monday, the storm was about 125 miles south of the western tip of Cuba with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph and moving north at 7 mph.
Forecasters said they expected Idalia to become a hurricane on Tuesday in the Gulf of Mexico and then curve northeast toward the west coast of Florida.
Idalia could approach Florida on Wednesday with winds of up to 100 mph, according to the latest forecasts from the hurricane center. That would make it a Category 2 hurricane.
Separately, the center said Hurricane Franklin had strengthened into the first major hurricane of the Atlantic season with 115 mph sustained winds, making it a Category 3 storm. Forecasters said Franklin is likely to get even stronger Monday before it begins to gradually weaken by Tuesday afternoon.
There were no coastal warnings or watches posted about Franklin but it’s expected to cause «life-threatening surf and rip current conditions» along the U.S. East Coast, the hurricane center said, adding that «swells generated by Franklin are beginning to affect Bermuda.»
As of 5 a.m. EDT Monday, Franklin was some 505 miles southwest of Bermuda moving north-northwest at 8 mph.Florida casts wary eye
Along a vast stretch of Florida’s west coast, up to 11 feet of ocean water could surge on shore, raising fears of destructive flooding.
At a Sunday afternoon briefing, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis noted that much uncertainty remains in the forecast.
