With sustained winds of near 100 miles per hour, Hurricane Idalia is nearing Florida’s Gulf Coast, where it is expected to deliver dangerous winds and a life-threatening storm surge by the time it makes landfall tomorrow morning. Rain from the storm’s outer bands has already begun to lash Florida’s southwest coast. Idalia (pronounced ee-DAL-ya) is very likely headed for a vulnerable but sparsely populated portion of the Florida coastline known as the Big Bend, which could see a storm surge of up to 15 feet. Still, our in-house meteorologist Judson Jones told me that officials are especially concerned about the area around Apalachee Bay. “They have never seen a major hurricane,” Judson said.

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Persons: Idalia, Judson Jones, ” Judson, “ It’s, Judson Locations: Coast, Florida, Bend, Tallahassee, Apalachee, Gulf Coast, Tampa