Florida’s Gulf Coast is under a hurricane watch as Tropical Storm Idalia gathers strength, poised to escalate into a hurricane and approach the state’s shores this week.

The hurricane watch encompasses a stretch from Englewood to Indian Pass, encompassing Tampa Bay, as outlined by the National Hurricane Center’s update on Sunday afternoon.

In addition to the hurricane watch, a tropical storm watch has been issued for the Gulf Coast spanning from Englewood to Chokoloskee and including the Dry Tortugas, CNN reported.

Currently positioned approximately 100 miles east of Cozumel, Mexico, the storm is slowly advancing at about 3 mph, boasting maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, according to the hurricane center.

Anticipated forecasts indicate that Idalia will gradually traverse the Yucatán Channel over the next 24 to 36 hours, ushering in tropical storm conditions for the far eastern regions of Yucatán, Mexico, and the western extremity of Cuba throughout Monday.

Idalia is projected to strike the Big Bend area of Florida on Wednesday morning as a Category 2 hurricane.

Written by staff