As Hurricane Idalia strengthened on Tuesday, so too did hope in Tampa Bay that the region would sustain a graze wound rather than a direct hit. As the storm ran parallel to Florida’s coast, forecasters’ confidence grew throughout Tuesday that Idalia would continue barreling through the unusually hot waters of the Gulf of Mexico, gathering force, while passing west of Tampa Bay overnight. The .
Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane and it's now traveling through northern Florida and into Georgia as a Category 1 storm. Follow here for live updates.