‘Catastrophic’ storm surge possible as Hurricane Idalia nears Florida landfall

“This change in wind speed does not diminish the threat of catastrophic storm surge and damaging winds,” the National Weather Service said in a 7 a.m. update.

Idalia was reported to be speeding north-northeast at 18 mph. Ryan Truchelut, Chief Meteorologist at WeatherTiger who provides forecasts for the USA Today Network, said the storm should crash onto the shore somewhere south of Perry in central Taylor County within an hour or two.

The weather service in Tallahassee described the storm as an “unprecedented event,” saying no major hurricane − Category 3 or higher − had ever slammed the Big Bend’s Apalachee Bay.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 49 of the state’s 67 counties across the northern half of the state from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Coast. He urged those in evacuation zones to do so immediately.

“Please hunker down wherever you are,” DeSantis said at a briefing early Wednesday. “Don’t mess with this storm, don’t put yourself in jeopardy.”

Approved ~ FS