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What time the tropical storm will hit Florida today and its category explained

Florida’s Gulf Coast is bracing for fierce winds, torrential rain and surging seawater from Hurricane Idalia, which is expected to arrive on Wednesday.

The hurricane steadily intensified on Tuesday, drawing energy from the warm, open waters of the Gulf of Mexico, as it drew closer to land.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued in at least 28 of Florida’s 67 counties as of Tuesday night.

Here’s what you need to know.

When will the storm hit Florida?

Idalia is expected to reach land between 6 and 9am ET (11am – 4pm BST) south of Perry, Florida.

After landing in the Big Bend region, Idalia is forecast to cross the Florida peninsula and then drench southern Georgia and the Carolinas on Thursday.

The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Idalia “an unprecedented event” since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay abutting the Big Bend.

It has already thrashed Cuba with heavy rain, especially the westernmost part of the island, where the tobacco-producing province of Pinar del Rio is still recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian.

ANKARA, TURKIYE - AUGUST 29: An infographic titled 'Tropical storm Idalia' is created in Ankara, Turkiye on August 29, 2023. (Photo by Elmurod Usubaliev/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Idalia is expected to hit Florida on Wednesday (Photo: Getty)

What category will it be?

Hurricanes are measured on a five category scale, with a Category 5 being the strongest. A Category 3 storm is the first on the scale considered a major hurricane.

Idalia developed sustained winds of 120 mph (190 kph) by early Wednesday, making it a Category 3 system, having grown into a Category 2 on Tuesday afternoon.

It was projected to make landfall later Wednesday morning as a Category 4 storm with winds of at least 130mph (209kmph).

The National Hurricane Centre said “catastrophic damage will occur” during a Category 4 storm.

What preparations are under way?

Florida residents living in vulnerable coastal areas have been ordered to pack up and leave, as authorities warned of a “catastrophic storm surge and destructive winds” when the storm moves ashore.

On the island of Cedar Key, off the northwest coast of Florida, Commissioner Sue Colson joined other city officials in packing up documents and electronics at City Hall on Tuesday.

She had a message for the residents who number nearly 900 and were under mandatory orders to evacuate.

More than a dozen state troopers went door to door warning residents that storm surge could rise as high as 15 feet (4.5 meters). “One word: Leave,” Ms Colson said. “It’s not something to discuss.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis repeated the warning at Tuesday afternoon news conference.

“You really gotta go now. Now is the time,” he said. Earlier, the governor stressed that residents didn’t necessarily need to leave the state, but should “get to higher ground in a safe structure.”

Tolls were waived on highways out of the danger area, shelters were open and hotels prepared to take in evacuees.

More than 30,000 utility workers were gathering to make repairs as quickly as possible in the hurricane’s wake, while 5,500 National Guard troops were activated.

In Tarpon Springs, a coastal community northwest of Tampa, 60 patients were evacuated from a hospital due to concern that the system could bring a 7ft (2.1-m) storm surge.

Both Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster have also announced states of emergency, freeing up state resources and personnel, including hundreds of National Guard troops.

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