A.G. Gancarski
As Hurricane Idalia churns north aside the southern part of the Florida peninsula, Gov. Ron DeSantis is telling people in the Tallahassee area to get ready for the worst.
“There are models suggesting that this is going to take more of a westward shift that could bring it into areas like Jefferson and Leon and Wakulla even. And people have known that this is a possibility and I know all those counties are making preparation, but that is something to look out for,” DeSantis said in Lake City.
“There is still a range of uncertainty here,” the Governor added. “They’re going to be updating this track as the day goes on and we will have, probably, better resolution on that as we get to the 2 or the 5 o’clock advisory.”
Department of Emergency Management head Kevin Guthrie affirmed the Governor’s take on a potential landfall northwest of the Big Bend area, where some expected the center of the storm to hit.
“Potentially a track back to the west over in Jefferson County,” Guthrie said. “Potentially even over into Leon.”
The National Hurricane Center’s (NHC) 2 p.m. advisory expects a “faster motion toward the north and north-northeast … through early Wednesday while Idalia approaches the Gulf coast of Florida.”
Wherever the storm hits, it will be brutal.
“Rapid intensification is expected before landfall, and Idalia is forecast to be a major hurricane when it reaches the Gulf coast of Florida Wednesday morning,” the NHC notes.
