Hurricane Idalia is the latest addition to a crowded list of notable hurricanes to have made landfall in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast in the last 7 years, most of which were major hurricanes:

12:17PM: Rain bands from #idalia are thinning out here in SWFL. Those that remain are still producing areas of heavy rainfall and gusty wind. Gusts will taper to 20 mph tonight and tomorrow #flwx

Hurricane Idalia Threatens to Stir Up Lake Okeechobee’s Toxic Algae Blooms nytimes.com/2023/08/29/us/…

VIDEO: See what Hurricane Idalia's storm surge did in St. James City on Pine Island news-press.com/story/weather/… via @thenewspress

UPDATE: Health department advises no swimming in Gulf for now. Health reporter Liz Freeman is reporting that Lee County residents and visitors are advised not to swim in the Gulf of Mexico or other waterways due to increased risk of bacteria.

YIKES!!!

Please don't travel this morning.
There are isolated areas of flooding in the county.

Hurricane Idalia: Here is the latest news for Lee County and what to know news-press.com/story/weather/… via @thenewspress

Will Treasure Coast canals and Lake O be lowered with Hurricane Idalia? news-press.com/story/weather/… via @thenewspress

Tornado Watch in effect for parts of Southwest Florida as water rises winknews.com/2023/08/30/tor…

📍PLACIDA

NBC2 viewer Evan Merritt took these videos. Take a look at the second one… this was when he was trying to remove his boat from the water earlier today and the tide was rising.

This is an amazing report by the ⁦The New York Times⁩. Everyone should read it. It illustrates perfectly why we need an ecological economics. Much of what we currently take for granted is just a Ponzi scheme. nytimes.com/interactive/20…

Could Hurricane Idalia swing back toward Florida east coast? orlandosentinel.com/2023/08/29/cou…

#Idalia : Water rushing up a beach access on Sanibel Island as high tide mixes with the first bands of Hurricane Idalia.

NBC2

That is very much not ideal. That eyewall is very much closed and is intensifying quite quickly.

Extra High Tidal flooding occurring in Bayou shores in St Pete FL ahead of/ not related to #Idalia #flwx Jim Cantore Mike Bettes The Weather Channel NWS Tampa Bay Spectrum Bay News 9 Weather Max Defender 8 Weather Team 10 Tampa Bay ABC Action News Denis Phillips Mike's Weather Page WeatherNation ABC Action News

Monday morning look at Idalia. Winds now 65mph. Starting that move north. Major Hurricane expected off west central Florida late Tuesday night. Hurricane Warnings should be coming soon along with many coastal evacuations. spaghettimodels.com

⚠️PREPARE NOW! #TropicalStormIdalia is forecast to become a CAT 3 Hurricane Tue! KNOW YOUR ZONE AND FOLLOW EVACUATION ORDERS!
Potential Impacts:
🌬️ TS/H winds depending on location
☔️ 6'+ of rain near the coast
🌊 2-11' storm surge may vary per area
🌪️ Several tornadoes possible

Tropical Storm Idaila expected to rapidly intensify like Ian did: What to know news-press.com/story/weather/…

BEWARE OF EAST SHIFT- Tampa and the rest of the Florida Peninsula should be closely watching #Idalia .

I’m getting concerned landfall will be further east than forecast based on latest Hurricane Hunter data. East shifts are likely coming. Be prepared.

#TropicalUpdate #flwx 🌀