Idalia evacuation zones: Path updates and timeline as tropical storm forecasted to hit Florida as a major hurricane

Both Hurricane Franklin and Tropical Storm Idalia are intensifying as the Atlantic hurricane season is beginning.

Idalia was off the coast of Cuba on Monday, potentially on a path to strike the southern US as a major hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Franklin has been gaining in power and grew into the first major hurricane of the Atlantic season, increasing in strength overnight.

Here’s everything you need to know about Tropical Storm Franklin and its path:

College football team Florida Gators are changing their travel plans for the season opener at No. 14 Utah on Thursday night, hoping to avoid Tropical Storm Idalia.

A team spokesman said on Monday that the Gators will fly to Dallas on Tuesday, practise and spend the night there, and then travel to Salt Lake City on Wednesday. Coach Billy Napier’s team had initially planned to fly from Gainesville to Utah on Wednesday.

Idalia has now passed Cuba and brought with it heavy rain, especially in the westernmost part of the island, with around 8,000 people evacuated, according to state-run TV.

The tobacco-producing province of Pinar del Rio, which is still recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian almost a year ago, was worst affected.

Authorities in the province issued a state of alert as residents were moved to friends’ and relatives’ homes as the Cuyaguateje river was monitored for possible flooding.

As much as 10cm (4 inches) of rain fell in Cuba on Sunday, meteorological stations reported yesterday. Figures for Monday are yet to be released.

Florida residents loaded up on sandbags and evacuated from homes in low-lying areas along the Gulf Coast as Tropical Storm Idalia intensified on Monday and forecasters predicted it would hit in days as a major hurricane with potentially life-threatening storm surges.

“You should be wrapping up your preparation for Tropical Storm Idalia tonight and Tues morning at the latest,” the National Weather Service in Tampa Bay said on Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 46 counties, a broad swath that stretches across the northern half of the state from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Coast.

The state has mobilised 1,100 National Guard members, who have 2,400 high-water vehicles and 12 aircraft at their disposal for rescue and recovery efforts.

Mr DeSantis said the Florida Department of Transportation would waive tolls on highways in the Tampa area and the Big Bend starting at 4am on Tuesday to help ease any burden on people in the path of the storm.

Tropical storm Idalia is now just 230 miles (370km) southwest of the Dry Tortugas National Park of Florida, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center.

Idalia is forecast to become a category 3 hurricane before it reaches the Florida coast.

The storm is packing maximum sustained winds of 70mph or 110km/h currently, with forecasts that these windspeeds could rise to over 111mph as the storm intensifies.

Idalia is expected to start affecting Florida with hurricane-force winds as soon as late Tuesday and arrive on the coast by Wednesday.

It is the first storm to hit Florida this hurricane season and a potentially big blow to the state, which is also dealing with lingering damage from last year’s Hurricane Ian.

The NWS has warned that Idalia may cause “life threatening” storm surges to western Florida.

Storm surge is caused by strong winds from weather systems like tropical storms and hurricanes pushing ocean water inland. Not only can the surge waters flood coastal areas, they can also overflow coastal rivers and wetlands, causing massive flooding in the surrounding regions.

Forecasters believe that Idalia may bring up to 11 feet of storm surge to areas of the western Florida coast.

Storm surges can be exceptionally deadly and disruptive, completely inundating roadways and leaving residents who don’t evacuate trapped on the roofs of their homes, assuming it doesn’t uproot the house completely.

The White House revealed details of a call between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the federal government today as state and federal officials prepare for Storm Idalia to make landfall on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told Mr DeSantis that its National Response Coordinaton Centre has been “fully activated” to provide support and assistance.

Two Incident Management Teams have been deployed to Tallahassee, and Urban Search and Rescue teams have been activated and will be ready as of this evening to respond to emergencies, according to the memo.

FEMA said that it has a staging team at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama and a warehouse in Atlanta stocked with emergency supplies for distribution in Florida following the storm.

Manatee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Kevin Van Ostenbridge told residents that officials were preparing for a “direct hit” by Storm Idalia when it makes landfall as a likely Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday.

Mr Van Ostenbridge expleind that should the hurricane continue on its current course, it would make landfall north of Manatee County, but noted that if it were to take a right turn — which it may — it would be on a direct path to the county.

He said officials were preparing for it to hit the county directly just in case it takes a turn.

Florida officials are warning drivers of potential fuel contamination at dozens of gas stations on the Gulf Coast as residents brace for the landfall later this week of Tropical Storm Idalia.

On Monday, Idalia was near the coast of Cuba and on a potential track to come ashore as a hurricane in the southern U.S. in the coming days, the National Hurricane Center said.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said late Sunday that gasoline purchased after 10 a.m. Saturday at some Citgo-supplied stations had a strong likelihood of being contaminated with diesel fuel. Citgo identified 29 affected stations — sold at chains like 7-Eleven, BJ’s Wholesale and other convenience stores — in cities including Tampa, Fort Myers, Sarasota and more.

The Tampa International Airport has announced it will close on Tuesday and presumably remain closed through Wednesday, when Tropical Storm Idalia is expected to make landfall in Florida as a Category 3 hurricane.

The airport will close tomorrow at 12:01am EST, officials said in a news release published on Monday.

The airport intends to remain closed until it can asses any damage caused by the hurricane, but officials anticipate reopening on Thursday, according to the press statement.

Closing the airport allows staff to prepare the grounds and facility for the storm’s arrival.

Officials also noted that the airport is not a shelter.