Idalia became a hurricane on Tuesday as it intensified on a path toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, with the National Hurricane Center warning of an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and dangerous hurricane-force winds in Florida in the next two days.
Hurricane Idalia was about 600 kilometres south-southwest of Tampa at 5 a.m. ET on Tuesday, with maximum sustained winds of 120 km/h, the hurricane centre said. Idalia was moving north at 22 km/h.
On Tuesday, it was expected to turn northeast at a faster pace, reaching Florida’s western coast as a dangerous major hurricane on Wednesday. It’s projected to have sustained