Hurricane Idalia could strengthen into a Category 4 storm in the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall on the Florida coast, according to the USA’s National Hurricane Center.

Published 1 year ago

Idalia pummeled Cuba with heavy rains on Monday and Tuesday this week, before moving into the Gulf of Mexico and heading for Florida in what could be another big blow to the state still dealing with lingering damage from 2022’s Hurricane Ian.

Hurricane Idalia was projected to come ashore early Wednesday as a Category 4 system, with sustained winds of at least 130 mph (209 kph) in the Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula.

The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Idalia “an unprecedented event”, since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay abutting the Big Bend.

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.

Ninth Named Storm

Idalia is the ninth named storm to form in the Atlantic in 2023.  On August 10, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) revised their estimate for the 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season predicting 14 to 21 storms which is up from the 12 to 17 named storms they forecast in their May 2023 outlook.

There were 14 named storms in 2022 after two extremely busy Atlantic hurricane seasons in which forecasters ran out of names and had to resort to backup lists. (A record 30 named storms formed in 2020.)

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Related News:

• Tracking Hurricane Idelia (New York Times)
• Idalia Strengthens over the Gulf of Mexico (AP News)
• NOAA Upgrades Outlook for 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season (Noonsite)
• NOAA Releases Updated 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook
• NOAA Satellites Monitor Increased Storm Activity in the Atlantic and Pacific
• UK Met Office 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season Update

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Related Links:

• Noonsite Cruising Resources:  Weather
• NOAA National Hurricane Center
• NOAA Climate Prediction Center
• UK Met Office
• Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale
• Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation
• Yale Climate Connections

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