Hurricane Idalia strengthens into a Category 2 storm capitalgazette.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from capitalgazette.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
CEDAR KEY, Fla. (AP) Hurricane Idalia made landfall on Florida’s west coast as a dangerous Category 3 storm on Wednesday and was unleashing life-threatening<a class="excerpt-read-more" href="https://wsvn.com/news/local/florida/hurricane-idalia-makes-landfall-on-floridas-west-coast-as-a-dangerous-category-3-storm/">Read More</a>
Florida residents living in vulnerable coastal areas have been ordered to pack up and leave as Hurricane Idalia gained steam in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and threatened to unleash life-threatening storm surges and rainfall. Idalia strengthened to a Category 2 system on Tuesday afternoon, with winds that evening of 110 mph. The hurricane was projected to come ashore early Wednesday as a Category 4 system with sustained winds of at least 130 mph in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula. The result could be a big blow to a state still dealing with lingering damage from last year’s Hurricane Ian.