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