FLORIDA, 30th August, 2023 (WAM) — Hurricane Idalia gained fury on Tuesday as it crawled toward Florida's Gulf Coast, forcing mass evacuations in low-lying areas expected to be swamped when the powerful storm, forecast to reach Category 4 intensity, strikes on Wednesday morning.
Idalia was generating maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour (177 kph) by late Tuesday night – at the upper end of Category 2 – and its force will ratchet higher before it slams ashore, the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) projected.