As an increasingly strengthening storm churns toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, Governor Ron DeSantis is urging residents to get prepared and keep an eye on Idalia.
Current forecasts show the storm making landfall Wednesday, potentially near the Big Bend, but the cone of uncertainty extends across much of the Gulf Coast and Governor Ron DeSantis says hurricane prediction models aren’t a guarantee.
He says anyone along the Gulf Coast could be impacted by the storm, even if they’re outside the cone.
“I would just caution people to remain vigilant. These things could change. We’ve had storms hit outside the cone," DeSantis says.
Division of Emergency Management Director, Kevin Guthrie says the cone shows the path forecasters expect the eye to take, but that could change quickly and impacts could be felt well outside the outline.
Guthrie is warning Floridians not to let their experience with previous storms make them complacent.
“Every tropical storm, every hurricane is different, and this is no exception," Guthrie says. "We cannot gauge our ability to withstand future hurricanes based on prior experience. This will not be Hurricane Hermine. This will not be Hurricane Ian."
Part of preparing for the storm means preparing to spend a few days with no power.
DeSantis says getting prepared means being aware of the potential for storm surge and flooding, paying attention to evacuation orders and planning to potentially lose power.
“If this storm ends up coming in the Tallahassee region there’s a lot of trees that are going to get knocked down, the power lines are gong to get knocked down, so just be prepared for that,” DeSantis says.
Linemen will begin staging throughout the state Monday.
DeSantis encourages anyone who is "power dependent" because of health or medical needs, to go to an emergency shelter and Guthrie encourages anyone in an evacuation zone to head to a shelter as well.
Storm surge is often the deadliest part of a hurricane."
"Storm surge was the number one cause of death in Hurricane Ian," Guthrie says. "You can evacuate by going 10s of miles away, not hundreds. Just simply going to your nearest shelter will save your life."
Guthrie encourages residents to know what their evacuation zone is, to follow evacuation orders and to pay attention to storm surge warnings and watches.
Forecasters are predicting 7 to 11 foot storm surges across the Big Bend Coast with 5 to10 inches of rain.
