Hurricane Idalia strengthens to Category 4 storm, nears landfall in Florida | CBC News

Hurricane Idalia strengthened to a dangerous Category 4 storm as it steamed toward Florida’s Big Bend region and threatens to unleash life-threatening storm surges and rainfall.

Idalia was projected to come ashore later Wednesday morning with wind of at least 209 kilometres per hour in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula. The National Weather Service in the state capital Tallahassee called Idalia “an unprecedented event” since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay abutting the Big Bend.

Idalia was about 96.5 kilometres west of Cedar Key and 145 kilometres south of Tallahassee at 5 a.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center said. It was moving north at 24 km/h.

Florida residents living in vulnerable coastal areas were ordered to pack up and leave as Idalia gained strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and authorities warned of a “catastrophic storm surge and destructive winds” when the storm moves ashore.

WATCH | Preparing for a storm that could kill:

Idalia storm surge already flooding Florida Gulf Coast ahead of landfall

Hurricane Idalia is gaining strength as it approaches Florida’s Gulf Coast where it’s expected to make landfall as a category 3 storm, bringing powerful winds and life-threatening storm surges.

Not everyone was heeding the warning. Andy Bair, owner of the Island Hotel on Cedar Key, said he intended to “babysit” his bed-and-breakfast, which predates the Civil War. The building has not flooded in the almost 20 years he has owned it, not even when Hurricane Hermine flooded the city in 2016.

“Being a caretaker of the oldest building in Cedar Key, I just feel kind of like I need to be here,” Bair said. “We’ve proven time and again that we’re not going to wash away. We may be a little uncomfortable for a couple of days, but we’ll be OK eventually.”

Idalia intensified from a Category 3 hurricane overnight, feeding off some of the hottest water on the planet.

“It’s 88, 89 degrees (31 C to 32 C) over where the storm’s going to be tracking, so that’s effectively rocket fuel for the storm,” said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.

Georgia, Carolina on guard

More than 30,000 utility workers were mobilized by Florida officials to make repairs as quickly as possible in the hurricane’s wake, and about 5,500 National Guard troops were activated. Tolls were waived on highways out of the danger area, shelters were open and hotels prepared to take in evacuees.

In Tarpon Springs, a coastal community northwest of Tampa, 60 patients were evacuated from a hospital out of concern that the system could bring a two-metre storm surge.

After landing in the Big Bend region, Idalia is forecast to cross the Florida peninsula and then drench southern Georgia and the Carolinas on Thursday.

Both Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced states of emergency, freeing up state resources and personnel, including hundreds of National Guard troops. “

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently said the 2023 hurricane season would be far busier than initially forecast, partly because of extremely warm ocean temperatures. The season runs through Nov. 30, with August and September typically the peak.