Hurricane Idalia tracker: Storm strengthens to Category 2, nears Florida’s Gulf Coast

Hurricane Idalia’s outer bands are already arriving on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Residents of Fort Myers Beach, in the south of the state, captured ankle-deep flooding on Tuesday, even as the storm isn’t expected to arrive in full force until tomorrow.

Watch below via AccuWeather.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis spoke from Lake City, Florida, on Tuesday to warn residents about the incoming Hurricane Idalia, which is expected to make landfall on Wednesday.

See his full remarks below.

Forecasters say Hurricane Idalia, which is barreling towards the Gulf Coast of Florida, is unprecedented.

“You need to complete your preparations today if you live in the Florida big bend. To put this system into the historical context, there are NO major hurricanes in the historical dataset going back to 1851 that have tracked into Apalachee Bay. None,” the National Weather Service said on Tuesday in a public forecast. “Don`t mess around with this. Follow the advice of your local emergency management.”

Parts of Hurricane Idalia are already arriving in the Florida Keys, with the storm expected to land in full force on Wednesday.

“This whole town is very, very old, so a lot of the infrastructure that’s on Second Street … it’s been there for 100-plus years. I’m just really worried it might not be the same when we get back,” Carol Carlin of Cedar Key told The Miami Herald as she prepared to evacuate.

Florida has stationed 55,000 national guardsmen and 25,000 electric linemen ahead of the hurricane’s arrival, according to the governor’s office.

Storm Idalia strengthened into a hurricane on Tuesday, 29 August and is expected to rapidly intensify before making landfall along the western coast of Florida on Wednesday.

Idalia is expected to be a historic event with “life-threatening” storm surges of up to 15 feet from tonight into Wednesday in the Big Bend area, according to authorties.

The latest National Weather Service update for Key West states: “A Tropical Storm Watch remains in effect for the Lower Florida Keys, from the west end of the Seven Mile Bridge through Key West.”

Hurricane Idalia, expected to make landfall in the US on Wednesday, is arriving near the anniversaries of hurricanes Katrina and Ida, two of the deadliest hurricanes in US history.

Together, they killed what’s believed to be more than 1,400 people.

“Catastrophic impacts from storm surge inundation of 10 to 15 feet above ground level and destructive waves are expected,” the NWS warned in a Tuesday forecast, particularly between Aucilla River and Yankeetown, Florida.

“There is potential for destructive life-threatening winds where the core of Idalia moves onshore in the Big Bend region of Florida, with hurricane conditions expected elsewhere,” the NWS added.

On the island of Cedar Key, Commissioner Sue Colson joined other city officials in packing up documents and electronics at City Hall. She had a message for the almost 900 residents who were under mandatory orders to evacuate the island near the coast of the Big Bend region.

More than a dozen state troopers went door to door warning residents that storm surge could rise as high as 15 feet (4.5 meters).

“One word: Leave,” Colson said. “It’s not something to discuss.”

Not everyone was heeding the warning. Andy Bair, owner of the Island Hotel, said he intended to “babysit” his bed-and-breakfast, which predates the Civil War. The building has not flooded in the almost 20 years he has owned it, not even when Hurricane Hermine flooded the city in 2016.

“Being a caretaker of the oldest building in Cedar Key, I just feel kind of like I need to be here,” Bair said. “We’ve proven time and again that we’re not going to wash away. We may be a little uncomfortable for a couple of days, but we’ll be OK eventually.”

Florida governor is facing negative headlines with Hurricane Idalia and the mass shooting in Jacksonville, but he has a chance to get good coverage too, writes Washington Bureau Chief Eric Garcia.

As Hurricane Idalia bears down on Florida, the Red Cross announced today an unprecedented $1 billion plan to address the climate crisis through their disaster relief work.

It’s the first effort from the organization to connect the climate crisis to disaster work and will encompass disaster relief, new international programs on climate response and preparedness, and sustainability efforts to minimize its own environmental footprint.

“As part of the world’s largest humanitarian network and a national leader in disaster relief, the American Red Cross is uniquely positioned to provide support to those who are threatened by climate-driven extreme weather,” said Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross.

“I can tell you firsthand that our changing climate is a humanitarian crisis for the communities and people we serve, and as fast as we are working to adapt, the needs are escalating faster. There is no time to wait.”