Tropical Storm Idalia tracking for west coast of Florida

Tropical Storm Idalia was near the coast of Cuba Monday on a potential track to come ashore as a hurricane in the southern U.S., the National Hurricane Center said.

At 4 a.m. Monday, the storm was about 125 miles off the western tip of Cuba with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph. The storm was stationary at the time, the hurricane center said.

Forecasters said they expected Idalia to become a hurricane on Tuesday in the Gulf of Mexico and then curve northeast toward the west coast of Florida.

Idalia could approach Florida on Wednesday with winds of up to 100 mph, according to the latest forecasts from the Hurricane Center. That would make it a Category 2 hurricane.

Along a vast stretch of Florida’s west coast, up to 11 feet of ocean water could surge on shore, raising fears of destructive flooding.

Large parts of the western coast of Florida are at risk of seawater surging onto land and flooding communities when a tropical storm or hurricane approaches. 

Jamie Rhome, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center, said, "It will not take a strong system or a direct hit to produce significant storm surge,” he said. “So if you’re anywhere along the Florida Peninsula, western Florida Peninsula, so let’s say from about Fort Myers northward to the Panhandle, you’ve really got to be paying attention.”

Thirty-three Florida counties are under a state of emergency, the state emergency management agency said.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Franklin is southeast of Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean, moving away from the U.S. Coast with winds of 115 miles per hour.