Tuesday, August 29, 2023

Idalia, Now A Hurricane, Expected To Batter FL/GA Tonight

 


#17,643

Although Idalia has struggled to achieve hurricane intensity over the past couple of days, now that it has entered the Gulf of Mexico rapid intensification is expected, as well as significant increase in forward speed. 

While the Tampa Bay area won't come away completely unscathed, once again it appears we will dodge the worst effects of this hurricane.  Coastal storm surge, heavy rains, and tornadoes are still a threat. 

The impacts further up the Gulf coast, however, are likely to be catastrophic.  The Key messages this morning from the National Hurricane Center are:


While I won't be forced to evacuate (as I was in 2017, and again last year), it is possible my area will see some power outages as the storm passes to our west, which may prevent me from updating this blog tomorrow. 

Those who live in the Big Bend region of Florida -all the way into southern Georgia - will be contending with the worst of Idalia (see After The Storm Passes), and impacts are expected along the Southeastern Coast (GA, SC, NC) before the system moves out to sea.

While I'll be doing usual hurricane preparedness blogs - and I follow (and recommend) Mark Sudduth's Hurricane Track, and Mike's Weather page - your primary source of forecast information should always be the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida.

These are the real experts, and the only ones you should rely on to track and forecast the storm.If you are on Twitter, you should also follow @FEMA, @NHC_Atlantic, @NHC_Pacific and @ReadyGov, and of course take direction from your local Emergency Management Office.

For more Hurricane resources from NOAA, you'll want to follow these links.

HURRICANE SAFETY

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

 

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