Storm expected to become extremely dangerous Category 4 as it happened | US weather

We’re pausing our coverage now but you can read our main report here, and the main updates so far below:

• Hurricane Idalia is forecast to reach “an extremely dangerous Category 4 intensity” with maximum sustained winds of at least 130 mph (209 kph) before it is predicted to slam into the Big Bend region on Florida’s Gulf Coast early Wednesday.

• It was packing sustained winds of 110mph at 12am EDT on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center, making it just 1mph shy of a Category 3 storm. In the same update, the NHC said Idalia was about 120 miles (195km) southwest of Cedar Key in Florida and about 175 miles (280km) south of Tallahassee, moving north at 17mph (27kph).

• States of emergency have been declared in Florida, North and South Carolina and Georgia. Residents of vulnerable coastal areas in Florida have been ordered to evacuate, with governor Ron DeSantis warning: “You really gotta go now. Now is the time.” In total, 28 of the state’s 67 counties are under evacuation orders.

• The National Weather Service in Tallahassee has called Idalia “an unprecedented event” since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay abutting the Big Bend, where the state’s northern panhandle curves into the Gulf side of the Florida Peninsula.

• Surge warnings have been posted for hundreds of miles of shoreline, from Sarasota to the sport fishing haven of Indian Pass at the western end of Apalachicola Bay. In some areas, the surge of water could rise 12 to 16 feet, the hurricane center said.

• Florida’s Gulf Coast along with southeastern Georgia and eastern portions of North and South Carolina could face torrential rains of 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm) through Thursday, with isolated areas seeing as much as 12 inches (30 cm), the hurricane center also warned.

• A tornado watch has also been issued for parts of Florida, including Tampa and Gainesville, and will remain in place until 6am EDT on Wednesday. The National Weather Service said those areas could also expect “isolated hail up to half inch size possible”.

• US president Joe Biden said he and DeSantis were “in constant contact,” adding that he had assured the governor federal disaster assistance would remain in place for as “long as it takes, and we*ll make sure they have everything they need.”

• Idalia also caused heavy rains in Cuba on Monday and Tuesday, leaving the tobacco-growing province of Pinar del Rio underwater. More than 10,000 people were evacuated to shelters or stayed with friends and relatives as up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain fell. More than half of the province was without electricity.

The city of Tampa has warned that the storm surge of 4 to 6 feet expected in the area could hit after the hurricane’s core moves past:

About 4,000 inmates of Florida’s prisons have been evacuated or relocated to facilities “in an abundance of caution” ahead of Idalia’s arrival, the state’s Department of Corrections has said.

It said inmates from more than 40 facilities had been “relocated to larger main units (parent facilities), better equipped to weather the storm.”

It also said extra food and water supplies had been ordered for facilities in the path of the storm and that “fuel supplies at institutions have been checked in anticipation of generator use.”

Maintenance teams from other teams were also ready to deploy after the storm had passed, the department said.

The hurricane is now about 115 miles (185km) south-west of Cedar Key, Florida and 160 miles (255km) south of Tallahassee with maximum sustained winds of 110mph, the National Hurricane Center has said in its latest update.

The storm is moving north at 16mph (26km/h)

A bit of context: Idalia will be the first hurricane to strike Florida since Nicole in November 2022, which made landfall close to Vero Beach on Florida’s east coast.

The deadly storm packed winds of 75mph winds – considerably less than Idalia – and a storm surge that collapsed buildings into the ocean and swept away roads as far north as Daytona Beach.

At the storm’s height, 330,000 customers lost power, many in areas recovering from Hurricane Ian, which ravaged the state just two months earlier, killing almost 150 people.

Ian was the second-deadliest storm to hit the mainland US in the 21st century after Hurricane Katrina, which left more than 1,800 people dead in 2005.

The deadliest hurricane ever to hit the US was the Galveston Hurricane in 1900 that killed as many as 8,000 people.

Summary

If you’re just joining us, here’s a roundup of the key developments:

• Hurricane Idalia is forecast to reach “an extremely dangerous Category 4 intensity” with maximum sustained winds of at least 130 mph (209 kph) before it is predicted to slam into the Big Bend region on Florida’s Gulf Coast early Wednesday.

• It was packing sustained winds of 110mph at 12am EDT on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center, making it just 1mph shy of a Category 3 storm. In the same update, the NHC said Idalia was about 120 miles (195km) southwest of Cedar Key in Florida and about 175 miles (280km) south of Tallahassee, moving north at 17mph (27kph).

• States of emergency have been declared in Florida, North and South Carolina and Georgia. Residents of vulnerable coastal areas in Florida have been ordered to evacuate, with governor Ron DeSantis warning: “You really gotta go now. Now is the time.” In total, 28 of the state’s 67 counties are under evacuation orders.

• The National Weather Service in Tallahassee has called Idalia “an unprecedented event” since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay abutting the Big Bend, where the state’s northern panhandle curves into the Gulf side of the Florida Peninsula.

• Surge warnings have been posted for hundreds of miles of shoreline, from Sarasota to the sport fishing haven of Indian Pass at the western end of Apalachicola Bay. In some areas, the surge of water could rise 12 to 16 feet, the hurricane center said.

• Florida’s Gulf Coast along with southeastern Georgia and eastern portions of North and South Carolina could face torrential rains of 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm) through Thursday, with isolated areas seeing as much as 12 inches (30 cm), the hurricane center also warned.

• A tornado watch has also been issued for parts of Florida, including Tampa and Gainesville, and will remain in place until 6am EDT on Wednesday. The National Weather Service said those areas could also expect “isolated hail up to half inch size possible”.

• US president Joe Biden said he and DeSantis were “in constant contact,” adding that he had assured the governor federal disaster assistance would remain in place for as “long as it takes, and we*ll make sure they have everything they need.”

• Idalia also caused heavy rains in Cuba on Monday and Tuesday, leaving the tobacco-growing province of Pinar del Rio underwater. More than 10,000 people were evacuated to shelters or stayed with friends and relatives as up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain fell. More than half of the province was without electricity.
  

The National Hurricane Center has issued its 12am update, forecasting a “catastrophic storm surge and destructive winds” in the Florida Big Bend, where Idalia is predicted to make landfall early Wednesday.

The hurricane was still recording sustained winds of 110mph, making it just 1mph short of a Category 3 storm.

It is now about 120 miles (195km) southwest of Cedar Key in Florida and about 175 miles (280km) south of Tallahassee, moving north at 17mph (27kph).

Residents can expect “catastrophic impacts” from storm surges of between 12 and 16 feet and destructive waves somewhere between the Wakulla/Jefferson County line and Yankeetown in Florida, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest update.

There is also the potential for “destructive life-threatening winds” when the storm’s core moves onshore in the Big Bend, it said. Strong winds are also expected to spread inland across parts of northern Florida and southern Georgia.

The NHC warned that residents in these areas should be “prepared for long-duration power outages”.

Flash, urban and moderate river flooding with “locally considerable impacts” is expected in the Big Bend, central Georgia and South Carolina through eastern North Carolina into Thursday, it continued.

A bit more from the latest National Hurricane Center update; the storm is now about 125 miles (200km) west of Tampa and 185 miles (300km) south of Tallahassee. It is travelling north at 18mph (30kph) with a minimum central pressure of 958mb.

Idalia to become 'extremely dangerous Category 4 intensity at landfall', hurricane center says

Hurricane Idalia is set to become an “extremely dangerous Category 4 intensity at landfall” the National Hurricane Center has said in its 11pm EDT update.

The storm, now a Category 2, was packing sustained winds of 110mph – 1mph away from being classified a Category 3 storm, the center said.

In its last update the National Hurricane Center said Idalia had reached maximum sustained wind speeds of 110mph, meaning it is just 1mph away from being declared a Category 3 storm. The next update is expected in just a few minutes.

Jamie Rhome of the National Hurricane Center has warned that people may be underestimating the power of the coming storm. He told PBS news:

If you have never experienced the power of a major hurricane, you’re probably underestimating just how strong it is …

The conditions are going to deteriorate rapidly through the evening and overnight areas in advance of this system.

We are already seeing heavy rain bands and strong winds move across the Florida Peninsula as we speak. This is no longer a sit and wait, sit and watch, or hope for a different outcome.

It is clear, if you’re in the path of this system, and most especially, most especially if you have been ordered to evacuate, you need to do that now, not tomorrow, now.

Separately, he told the BBC that a storm surge of 10-15ft (4.5m) could be “hard for a lot of people to fathom and envision”.

Rhome, who is 6ft tall, said people should try to imagine another one or more people standing on his shoulders to get a picture of the expected depth of some flood waters.

Summary

If you’re just joining us, here’s a roundup of the key developments:

• Hurricane Idalia is forecast to reach Category 3 strength – classified as a major hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of at least 111 mph (179 kph) – before it is predicted to slam into the Big Bend region on Florida’s Gulf Coast early Wednesday. It was upgraded to a Category 2 storm late on Tuesday afternoon with winds strengthening to 105 mph (165 kph).

• At 8 pm EDT Tuesday, Idalia was about 155 miles (250 kilometers) west-southwest of Tampa, the National Hurricane Center said. It was moving north at 16 mph (26 kph)

• States of emergency have been declared in Florida, North and South Carolina and Georgia. Residents of vulnerable coastal areas in Florida have been ordered to evacuate, with governor Ron DeSantis warning: “You really gotta go now. Now is the time.” In total, 28 of the state’s 67 counties are under evacuation orders.

• The National Weather Service in Tallahassee has called Idalia “an unprecedented event” since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay abutting the Big Bend, where the state’s northern panhandle curves into the Gulf side of the Florida Peninsula.

• Surge warnings have been posted for hundreds of miles of shoreline, from Sarasota to the sport fishing haven of Indian Pass at the western end of Apalachicola Bay. In some areas, the surge of water could rise 10 to 15 feet (3.0 to 4.6 m), the hurricane center said.

• Florida’s Gulf Coast along with southeastern Georgia and eastern portions of North and South Carolina could face torrential rains of 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm) through Thursday, with isolated areas seeing as much as 12 inches (30 cm), the hurricane center also warned.

• A tornado watch has also been issued for parts of Florida, including Tampa and Gainesville, and will remain in place until 6am EDT on Wednesday. The National Weather Service said those areas could also expect “isolated hail up to half inch size possible”.

• US president Joe Biden said he and DeSantis were “in constant contact,” adding that he had assured the governor federal disaster assistance would remain in place for as “long as it takes, and we*ll make sure they have everything they need.”

• Idalia also caused heavy rains in Cuba on Monday and Tuesday, leaving the tobacco-growing province of Pinar del Rio underwater. More than 10,000 people were evacuated to shelters or stayed with friends and relatives as up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain fell. More than half of the province was without electricity.

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