Monday 5PM Idalia Update – Another Shift Towards West

As the Tampa Bay region prepares for Tropical Storm Idalia, we have a 5pm update of the storms intensity/movements.

At 5 p.m. Monday, Tropical Storm Idalia was located about 35 miles south-southwest of the western tip of Cuba. Forecasters report that life-threatening storm surge and dangerous winds are likely for portions of Florida. The Tampa Bay area can expect to see 4-7 ft of storm surge. The good news is it looks like the storms path took another shift west, getting further from Tampa Bay.

Here are the latest observations on what will become Hurricane Idalia sometime today from Denis Phillips from ABC Action News as well as other Tampa weather experts.

On the verge of becoming a hurricane... As of the 5pm update, Tropical Storm Idalia was moving at 8 MPH with winds sustaining 70 MPH.

The good news for the Tampa Bay area is that the forecast has shifted the track of the storm to the west.

Monday:

Spend the day gathering supplies and prepping your home and family. Learn your evacuation zone and plan. News Channel 8 reports Tropical Storm Idalia is expected to continue its current track north through Monday evening bringing strong winds and heavy rain to Cuba.

Tuesday:

By early Tuesday, the center of Idalia is forecast to pass over the extreme southeastern Gulf of Mexico as a category 2 hurricane. The Tampa Bay area is expected to see a lot of rain Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. Tampa weather expert Denis Phillips is expecting to see a significant amount of storm surge Tuesday night into Wednesday.

Wednesday:

The evening projection models show that Idalia is forecast to be a “dangerous major hurricane” when it reaches the Gulf coast of Florida. With the latest shift to the west, Tampa Bay is likely to experience some of the outer bands of the storm.