Hurricane Idalia strengthened to a dangerous Category 4 storm Wednesday morning as it steamed toward Florida’s Big Bend region and threatened to unleash life-threatening storm surges and rainfall.
Florida residents living in vulnerable coastal areas were ordered to pack up and leave as Hurricane 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 later Wednesday morning.
Idalia was projected to come ashore as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of at least 130 mph (209 kph) in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula. The result could be a big blow to a state still dealing with lingering damage from last year’s Hurricane Ian. It had grown into a Category 2 system on Tuesday afternoon and became a Category 3 just hours earlier Wednesday.
Keep denying climate change DeSantis. Bastard.
Hurry, strap desantis to a kite
Damn I’m misinformed I really thought it was weakening.
It isn’t weakening, but just get out a sharpie and change the path. Everyone saved!
I only have a marks-a-lot can I substitute that or do I need a divine sharpie?
That depends. Are you president of the United States?
I hear nuking hurricanes can help too.
It never hit cat 4. It was a lower cat 3. It was traveling quite fast and didn’t have a chance to do any eye wall replacements before landfall. So it actually weakened a bit (the first part of the replacement cycle) when it hit landfall.
Keaton, Perry and Valdosta are probably gonna get fucked up. Unfortunately Perry is quite rural. Theres not a lot of money there, lots of folks in trailers and substandard housing and thus, its more dangerous.
But this wasn’t a “Michael” event. It does seem the NHS took a different tact this year on their predictions and warnings. Not of the major intensity models had it hitting a 4 (hwrf, hmon, etc). But they were saying it anyway. Had some folks panicking quite a bit in my area.
They were right in that a major hadn’t hit Appalachee bay, but that’s because Mexico beach and cape san blas are like, 10 minutes west of that demarcation point.
It did weaken to Category 3 before it made landfall
It never hit a 4. Wasn’t really predicted to either by any of the models. It was moving too fast to really intensify. The NhC did take a bit of a different tact and so did a lot of the TV forecasters and for those of us that tend to monitor the data on places like tropical tidbits and from NWS it seemed like a juxtaposition. It had a lot of folks in a bit of a panic over n my area.
Here’s intensity tracking and modeling from 00z to 06z to 12z today. The 0 point is actual intensity and those are usually bumped up just a bit from recon sounding data. And that tracked as well they tend to err on the side of higher values over median or mean
Here’s 18z yesterday.
Global warming denier country hit by hurricane made possible by global warming.
This f-ing thing was a tropical depression at the end of last week, and turned into a full Cat 4 just within the gulf within a few days.
I really have no sympathy for Floridians, this is what they voted for