little farther west as it comes on shore. the key here is it takes tampa bay out of a direct hit. but meanwhile, let s look at it on the satellite loop. it has gone crazy today. quick strengthening from a tropical storm this morning, less than tough hours later it is a category 2 hurricane. it makes landfall, a major, dangerous hurricane, category 3 tomorrow morning, then shoots right up the coast, it is not going to lollygag and stall, so the rainfall amounts still heavy. not 20-30 inches, we are talking 4-8 inches, we can stew a tropical storm as we get into tomorrow night and thursday, bur outages, and a few spin-offs. the big story by far is going to be the storm surge. this part of the gulf coast, very susceptible because it is very shallow. the big bend, 10-15 feet. that is above normally high ground, just imagine a wall of water coming in. it is going to be destructive, catastrophic, and certainly more life-threatening. norah: mike seidel with all of that important new informa
to make landfall first thing tomorrow morning, but parts of florida are already getting heavy rain and wins right now. extremely warm water temperatures in the gulf of mexico, largely from climate change and those persistent heat domes this summer, are fueling this hurricane. forecasters predict that this storm could turn catastrophic, wiping out coastal communities along a section of the gulf coast, and it could be, and it probably will become of the strongest storm to hit what s called the big bend region ever appeared and we are now learning idalia will also hit georgia and possibly south carolina as a hurricane. millions are under evacuation orders in 30 counties with life-threatening storm surge of 10-15 feet expected in some areas. so, to truly get a sense of the size of the storm, take a look at this image from space. expands some 400 miles wide. we have team coverage and with cbs s omar villafranca starting us off from crystal river, florida, where they are just
headlines. millions under evacuation orders ahead of the unprecedented storm set to make landfall tomorrow morning. with the national weather service morning no one has seen a hurricane like this. if you have the opportunity to evacuate and you can, please do. norah: bringing down drug prices. the new white house effort to cut the cost of ten medicines, including some for diabetes and cancer. for too long, drugmakers have made a fortune while patients like me live in constant fear, wondering how we pay for our medicine. and international operation took down one of the most dangerous cybersecurity threats on the web. by stopping qakbot and dismantling qakbot, we are saving consumers and victims tens of millions of dollars of losses. the university of arkansas is working with the department of health to identify and e. coli in outbreak among students.
hours away from feeling the hurricane s full force. good evening, omar. reporter: good evening. we are starting to see some rain here in north central florida, but for residents who stayed behind, the citrus county sheriff just told me that once sustained winds reach 45 miles per hour, his deputies cannot safely go out, so for resident has a problem, they are going to have to wait until after the storm passes. idalia s initial impact was felt from the florida keys up to tampa. high winds, heavy rains, and some flooding. the eye of the storm is taking aim at the big bend region of florida s gulf coast, which is bracing for hurricane-force winds of at least 111 miles per hour. authorities urgently telling residents in mobile homes and areas prone to flooding to get out now. the one consistent response from everyone who made the decision to stay is that i will never do that again. so, understand, that