Hurricane Idalia forecast to be Category 4 at landfall

(NewsNation) — Hurricane Idalia continued to strengthen Tuesday night as it traversed the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on its way to Florida, where it’s expected to be a Category 4 storm when it makes landfall.

The National Hurricane Center warned residents of an increased risk of life-threatening storm surges, dangerous hurricane-force winds and flooding in Florida for the next two days. A storm surge of up to 15 feet above ground level and “destructive waves” are expected between Aucilla River and Yankeetown. A rare blue supermoon could exacerbate flooding even more.

The hurricane had strengthened to Category 2 Tuesday afternoon. Evacuations were ordered in vulnerable areas along the state’s Gulf Coast and Panhandle regions.

At 11 p.m. ET Tuesday, Idalia was about 125 miles west of Tampa with sustained winds of 110 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. It was moving north at 18 mph.

The hurricane was projected to come ashore early Wednesday as a an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 system in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned residents Tuesday night to make final preparations for the storm’s arrival.

“This is crunch time,” he said at the state’s emergency operations center in Tallahassee.

Evacuation notices have been issued in at least 25 counties with mandatory orders in 17.

Many of the notices were for people in low-lying and coastal areas, for those living in structures such as mobile and manufactured homes, recreational vehicles and boats and for people who would be vulnerable in a power outage.

“For the first time in quite a while, I’ve had a lot of people that are legitimately nervous about this storm,” one Florida resident said.

Tolls were waived on highways out of the danger area, shelters were open and hotels prepared to take in evacuees. More than 30,000 utility workers were gathering to make repairs as quickly as possible in the hurricane’s wake.

The storm is forecast to cut through Florida’s Panhandle, including the small island community of Cedar Key.

Jamie Rhome, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center, says the storm surge could “completely isolate” the community and flood “nearly every home” on the island.

A wide swatch of the Panhandle could see up to 15 feet of storm surge.

“I certainly hope” people will abide by the evacuation orders, Rhome said. “A lot of people are going to see that satellite imagery, and it’s going to look progressively worse through the evening.”

DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 49 counties, a broad swath that stretches across the northern half of the state from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Coast. The state has mobilized about 5,500 National Guard members, who have 2,400 high-water vehicles and 12 aircraft at their disposal for rescue and recovery efforts.

“Floridians in the path of this storm, just be prepared to lose power,” DeSantis said. “This is going to come in if it’s (Category) 3 plus, there’s going to be a lot of trees that are going to get knocked down, there’s going to be a lot of debris that is going to interrupt the power lines.”

NewsNation local affiliate WFLA reported that Florida’s leading electric utility provider, Tampa Electric, is enlisting support from thousands of personnel from over 20 states. Over 3,000 workers, including line crews, tree trimmers and damage assessors are headed to Florida to expedite power restoration operations after Hurricane Idalia passes, WFLA wrote.

Between duct tape and sandbags, people are doing whatever they can to prepare, but residents like Brian Smith aren’t waiting around to see what Idalia does.

“I worry about every storm; no more, no less. Each one of them is a challenge. It’s not worth jeopardizing my family,” Smith said.

Others, like David Van, told NewsNation they’re sticking around. Van’s been in the area for over 30 years and said he hasn’t had damage from storms before.

“(I’m) basically just securing outdoor things at my house and below my house and my carport and trimming limbs and cutting grass and things of that nature,” Van said. “Tighten things down, basically.”

Many school districts along the Gulf Coast said they would be closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Several colleges and universities said they would close their campuses Tuesday, including the University of Florida in Gainesville.

President Joe Biden spoke to DeSantis on Monday morning, telling the Florida governor that he had approved an emergency declaration for the state, the White House said in a news release.

Southwest Florida is still recovering from Hurricane Ian, which was responsible last year for almost 150 deaths. The Category 5 hurricane damaged 52,000 structures, nearly 20,000 of which were destroyed or severely damaged.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center predict Idalia will weaken into a tropical storm as it moves into South Carolina on Wednesday. Storm conditions are expected to last through Thursday morning, with the most significant impacts expected in the eastern midlands throughout the coastal plain with 4 to 8 inches of rain.

Ahead of Idalia coming to South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency.

“We are expecting, at the very least, high winds and high water, so we have to be prepared,” he said during a press briefing Tuesday afternoon, NewsNation local affiliate WCBD reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.