State of emergency issued in North and South Carolina
North Carolina and South Carolina have each declared a state of emergency ahead of potential impacts from Hurricane Idalia.
The North Carolina governor, Roy Cooper, declared the emergency on Monday “to activate the state’s emergency operations plan, waive transportation rules to help the transport of fuel and critical supplies and services, help first responders and assist the agriculture industry to prepare in advance for inclement weather and protect consumers from price gouging”, a statement from his office said.
“We are continuing to monitor Idalia’s course and its potential impacts on our state and it’s critical to make sure we are fully prepared,” Cooper said.
It is important for North Carolinians to gather emergency kits and prepare for the storm before it’s too late. We also want to make sure our farmers are able to protect their crops.
South Carolina’s governor, Henry McMaster, declared the emergency on Tuesday, warning that although the state “may avoid the worst of Hurricane Idalia’s impacts”, residents should be “making proper preparations” and authorities would ensure to have “the necessary resources in place to respond to flooding events and are able to respond quickly if the forecast worsens”, Fox reported.
A state of emergency has also been issued for Georgia.
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Evacuated plane in Florida records St Elmo’s fire: report
In Tampa, Florida, a plane being evacuated from an air force base recorded the eerie purple flicker of St Elmo’s fire or Witch’s fire, AccuWeather reports:
A plane being evacuated from MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL due to Hurricane #Idalia recorded St. Elmo's Fire, a lightning-like weather phenomenon which is a coronal discharge of plasma. pic.twitter.com/wPJcNtNfjP
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) August 29, 2023What makes Idalia so potent? ‘Absurdly warm’ water that acts ‘like rocket fuel’
Hurricane Idalia is expected to gain strength as it approaches Florida and the rest of the Gulf Coast, and scientists told the Associated Press the storm is being supercharged by the high temperatures of ocean water.
“It’s 88, 89 degrees (31, 32 degrees Celsius) 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. “It’s basically all systems go for the storm to intensify.”
That water “is absurdly warm and to see those values over the entire northeast Gulf is surreal,” said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy.
Idalia “stands a chance of setting a record for intensification rate because it’s over water that’s so warm,” said MIT hurricane professor Kerry Emanuel. On Tuesday, only a few places on Earth had conditions — mostly warm water — so primed for a storm’s sudden strengthening, he said.
“Hurricanes get their energy from warm water,” the Associated Press’s Seth Borenstein writes, meaning Idalia is currently “at an all-you-can-eat buffet”.
Florida 'already seeing impacts' of Idalia in south-west, says Ron DeSantis
The Florida governor Ron DeSantis advised people under evacuation orders to “make decisions that are best for you and for your family”.
The National Hurricane Center has warned that “life-threatening” high tide storm surge could reach 10 to 15ft in some areas of the Big Bend. DeSantis said:
If you’re there while that hits, it’s going to be very difficult to survive that – so please take appropriate precautions.
He added:
We are already seeing impacts in southwest Florida. […] The eye of the storm is probably 100 miles or more off the coast of southwest Florida, and yet those outer bands are already showing significant impacts. So you’re gonna see impacts all up and down the west coast of Florida as the night goes on and as we get in to the wee hours of tomorrow morning.
DeSantis urged everybody to “hang in there” and warned the storm will lead to “significant impacts”, particularly in this part of the state.
Be prepared for that. Be prepared to lose power and just know that there’s a lot of folks that are going to be there to help you get back on your feet.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis urges residents under evacuation orders to leave now
Ron DeSantis has been speaking at another news conference as the state braces for Idalia to make landfall.
The hurricane is now about 190 miles (305km) south-west of Tampa and is intensifying, DeSantis said. There will be a “significant impact” on the Big Bend region, especially in low-lying and coastal areas, “so please prepare for that”, he said.
He urged residents under evacuation orders issued by 28 counties not to wait any longer, noting the high storm surge expected on parts of the coast.
If you are in evacuation zone and you’ve been directed to evacuate […] now’s the time to do it. You still have a little bit more time. If you wait much longer, by the time we get in further into tonight, the weather is going to start getting nastier and nastier.
DeSantis said it would be “too nasty” for people to leave tomorrow morning, and that first responders would not be able to reach them until after the storm had passed.
Hurricane Idalia is projected to come ashore early Wednesday as a category 3 storm – classified as a major hurricane – with sustained winds of up to 120mph (193 km/h) in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida panhandle curves into the peninsula.
The National Weather Service in Tallahassee has called Idalia “an unprecedented event” since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay abutting the Big Bend.
At 5pm ET, Idalia was about 195 miles (310km) southwest of Tampa, the National Hurricane Center said. It was moving north at 16mph (26 km/h).
Idalia to bring 'catastrophic' impacts from storm surge
Idalia strengthened into a category 2 hurricane with maximum winds of 100mph, as forecasters warned of life-threatening winds and a catastrophic storm surge.
A storm surge of up to 15ft in some locations, destructive winds up to 125mph and a risk of significant flooding are all forecast, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Forecasters said the storm is expected to make landfall somewhere in Florida’s Big Bend region, a sparsely populated area where the panhandle meets the peninsula.
President Joe Biden said he spoke with Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, on Monday night about preparations for Hurricane Idalia and said the administration was “providing everything he possibly needs”.
He added that officials were worried about storm surge, which is predicted to reach 15ft as the storm lashes the Gulf coast. He added that the administration is monitoring the storm on an hourly basis.
“We’re there as long as it takes,” Biden said he told DeSantis during their conversation.
National Hurricane Center declares Idalia a category 2 hurricane
Idalia has strengthened into a category 2 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 100mph, the National Hurricane Center said.
Forecasters warned “life-threatening storm surge and hurricane conditions” are expected along portions of Florida’s Gulf coast tonight and Wednesday.
Hurricane #Idalia Advisory 13: Idalia Now a Category 2 Hurricane. Life-Threatening Storm Surge and Hurricane Conditions Expected Along Portions of the Gulf Coast of Florida Tonight and Wednesday. https://t.co/tW4KeGe9uJ
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 29, 2023Florida governor Ron DeSantis warned residents in inland counties will also see “significant impacts” of Hurricane Idalia.
Speaking at a news conference, DeSantis said parts of the coast would experience “really significant storm surge” and urged people in those areas to evacuate.
You still have time to do that if you are in this Big Bend area, but time is running out very very rapidly.
Local officials in Savannah, Georgia, are considering issuing a 6pm curfew after a local state of emergency order was signed by the mayor.
The curfew is not in place yet, WTOC-TV reported, despite Mayor Van Johnson posting to X that it would be in effect from 6pm Wednesday until 6am Thursday.
Pursuant to my emergency order issued today and in the safety interests of our citizens and first responders, a curfew will be set in #Savannah beginning 6pm tomorrow (Wednesday) night until 6am Thursday.
Be safe, be smart, stay home! pic.twitter.com/wwdO3B3BrA
Extreme weather 'is our new normal', says Fema chief
The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), Deanne Criswell, urged residents in the path of Hurricane Idalia to heed warnings from local officials and to take the storm “seriously”.
Criswell, at a White House press conference, described the “unprecedented” number of disaster requests from governors due to extreme weather events this year. She added:
This is the new normal.
The storm surge from Idalia will likely be “one of the highest-risk parts” of the hurricane and threatens to wreak havoc along the west coast of Florida, Criswell said.
Very few people can survive being in the path of major storm surge, and this storm will be deadly if we don’t get out of harm’s way and take it seriously.
She said she spoke on Monday with governors Ron DeSantis of Florida, Brian Kemp of Georgia and Henry McMaster of South Carolina to coordinate on the hurricane and work with the states on their needs.
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