USA TODAY International Edition
‘ Catastrophic surge’ could wallop Florida
Gulf Coast braces for hurricane force to make landfall
FORT MYERS, Fla. − Tropical Storm Idalia was intensifying and threatened to slam across Florida’s Gulf Coast sometime Wednesday as a major hurricane with “life- threatening storm surge and dangerous winds,” the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm was forecast to reach hurricane strength by Tuesday, the hurricane center said.
Ryan Truchelut, chief meteorologist at Florida- based WeatherTiger, said conditions remained ripe for rapid intensification starting Tuesday morning. He projected landfall by midday Wednesday somewhere along the Big Bend and Nature Coast. Idalia could become just the second Category 3 or higher hurricane to make landfall there in the past 170 years, he said.
“Idalia will likely bring catastrophic surge to a broad swath of the west- central Florida and Big Bend coastline and a core of destructive winds to an unlucky but still unknown swath of North Florida,” said Truchelut, who provides forecasts for the USA TODAY Network.
Hurricane watches were in effect along more than 300 miles of the Florida Coast − from Longboat Key, 60 miles south of Tampa, to the Ochlockonee River near Tallahassee. A major hurricane is a Category 3, 4 or 5 storm or higher on the Saffir- Simpson hurricane wind speed scale; a storm becomes a Category 3 hurricane when maximum wind speeds reach at least 111 mph.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor declared a state of emergency. A surge of up to 7 feet is possible in the Tampa Bay area, and any shift of the storm’s path eastward could increase the dangers for the sprawling metropolitan area.
Pasco County, north of Tampa, issued a mandatory evacuation order for some areas − and throughout the county of almost 600,000 people for those living in manufactured or mobile homes or RVs. The county will have shelters open by Tuesday morning.
“Please consider riding out the storm with family or friends,” county officials said in a statement. “If that’s not an option, you can evacuate directly to a Pasco County shelter.”
The storm’s center was expected to reach the southeastern Gulf of Mexico by early Tuesday after sweeping over or near western Cuba. Idalia was forecast to gain speed and turn northnortheast toward Florida. Up to 11 feet of ocean water could surge over the Florida shoreline and along inland rivers and creeks as the storm rolls in, raising concerns for flooding that could be extensive.
In Pine Island, the island’s entire electrical grid was taken down less than a year ago by Hurricane Ian. Fire District chief Ben Mickuleit said he wasn’t as concerned about the potential for power grid damage as he was
“I think everyone’s a little more hypervigilant about doing those things this time. Since it’s so uncertain and it is in the Gulf, people are trying to get the basics taken care of.”
Julia Simpson Secretary of nonprofit charitable organization Matlacha Hookers, on people in Pine Island’s St. James City, Fla.
for homes hit by Ian that had not yet been fully repaired. Mickuleit advised residents prepare their homes by moving outdoor furniture inside. Sand and sandbags would be available at the firehouse, he said.
Julia Simpson, secretary of nonprofit charitable organization Matlacha Hookers, said people in Pine Island’s St. James City who saw significant flooding during Ian have begun moving vehicles and themselves to higher ground and filling bathtubs.
“I think everyone’s a little more hypervigilant about doing those things this time,” she said. “Since it’s so uncertain and it is in the Gulf, people are trying to get the basics taken care of.”
Tampa airport, port plan shutdowns
Tampa International Airport was expected to be shut down Tuesday morning and expects to reopen Thursday morning after assessments of the damage, authorities said. Port Tampa Bay already was closed for inbound ships because of the coming storm, although “landside” operations such as fueling remain open, authorities said. The Coast Guard has set the port conditions to YANKEE, meaning gale force winds are possible within 24 hours.
“The port has been in contact with our partner fuel terminal operators and have been assured they are prepared to deliver fuel and support consumers,” the port said in a statement.
Popular island spot Cabbage Key is getting ready
On Lee County’s Cabbage Key, they are taking preparations seriously at the popular island spot Cabbage Key Inn & Restaurant, where Jimmy Buffett is rumored to have written the song “Cheeseburger in Paradise.” The popular post- fishing trip stop is closing down ahead of the storm, and employees who left the island were given Tuesday and Wednesday off.
“We are battening down the hatches,” said restaurant manager Thomas James, explaining that the restaurant was doing its typical hurricane prep in case the storm turned or intensified.
Because of Cabbage Key’s remote location, a number of employees live in dorm- style housing. James said the restaurant had not yet decided to evacuate its employees yet, but there was room at its Bokeelia- based sister restaurant Tarpon Lodge and “plenty of boats to take employees off- island.”
Local leaders’ message to residents: Don’t panic
Some barrier islands along Southwest Florida, such as Pine Island, Matlacha, Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach, saw widespread devastation from Hurricane Ian’s heavy winds and 14- foothigh storm surge less than one year ago. Now, faced with Hurricane Idalia, local leaders were urging people to stay calm but prepare.
Jen and Kevin Russell, who run the popular Facebook page Things to do on Pine Island, are considered the unofficial mayors of the unincorporated island. The Russells’ message to Pine Islanders was simple: Don’t panic.
“We don’t want to create any anxiety for people,” Jen said, adding that fear might keep people from smart decisions. Kevin said they planned to keep Pine Islanders informed through their Facebook page, as they did during Ian.
Sanibel, blasted by Ian, works the checklist
Sanibel City Council member Holly Smith, who was mayor when Hurricane Ian devastated the island in September, said that as a hotelier she’s busy preparing while navigating a flurry of meetings Monday. On the schedule so far: the fire district, Lee County Electric Cooperative, a likely City Council meeting and a roundtable with Sen. Rick Scott about lessons learned from Hurricane Ian. She said she has asked Lee County officials for a state of emergency to prepare for evacuations and other responses as the storm grows stronger.
She estimated there are about 1,000 residents on the island and fewer than 100 visitors because of limited room availability.
After Ian, “I would rather have a citizen upset with me for a couple of days if nothing comes to pass, then have to handle the mess we did post- Ian,” she said.
Coastal areas brace for flooding from storm surge
Storm surge – a rapid increase in water levels that push inland up rivers and streams – was expected to create a serious flooding threat along Florida’s west coast. The National Hurricane Center increased and extended its surge forecast with the expectation that Idalia would become a major hurricane, with winds in excess of 110 mph, as it neared the coast. Idalia was expected to make landfall during a full moon, the time of the month when tides are at their highest.
The center warned that the surge could be as high as 7 to 11 feet from the Big Bend south to Homosassa Springs, and a storm surge warning is in place from St. Marks, Florida, south to Port Charlotte. The surge could be on the higher end of the forecast if Idalia makes landfall at high tide.
The peak surge forecast decreases by degrees further south along the coast, but could be anywhere from 3 feet to 9 feet, depending on the proximity to landfall, the hurricane center said.
Neighbor helping neighbor in Manatee County
Dave Clement, 66, lives on the second level of a condo building in Bradenton Beach south of Tampa. He drove a couple of miles south to Coquina Beach, where Manatee County workers dumped sand and bags for locals preparing for the storm. Clement said he was shoveling sandbags for his downstairs neighbor, who was traveling.
Clement said that while it remained unclear where the storm will hit, it was best to prepared for whatever might come.
“When you live in a condo association, you know, you’re all connected,” Clement said. “That’s how I look at it. You want to make sure your neighbor’s going to be OK.”
State expects power outages, preps for water rescues
Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has declared a state of emergency for half the state’s counties, warned that trees will come down and power outages are “just going to happen.”
The state mobilized 1,100 National Guard members with 2,400 high water vehicles and 12 aircraft to prepare for rescues, he said. The state’s emergency operations center in Tallahassee had shifted into around- the- clock operations early Monday.
“These things can wobble, so Floridians along our Gulf Coast should be vigilant, even if you are currently outside” the likely track of the storm, he said.
Damaging winds, up to 18 inches of rain
“Major, life- threatening flooding” was possible, with 4 to 8 inches of rain possible from northern Florida through the Southeast − and some areas could see up to 18 inches of rain, AccuWeather said. AccuWeather meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said damaging winds of 40 to 60 mph can be expected across Florida and parts of the Southeast in the coming days.
“Closest to where the tropical system makes landfall, however, wind gusts of up to 120 to 140 mph can occur,” he said.
Contaminated gas complicates storm preparations
Drivers along Florida’s Gulf Coast were told they could have purchased gas contaminated with diesel fuel over the weekend as residents in the area prepared for Idalia. Florida officials warned that any fuel purchased after 10 a. m. on Saturday at stations supplied by Citgo from the Port of Tampa had a strong likelihood of being contaminated with diesel fuel.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said contaminated gasoline and diesel could damage the engine or affect its operation.
Idalia will also target Georgia, Carolinas, Virginia
Georgia, South and North Carolina and Virginia were expected to be the next targets as Idalia sweeps over Florida, forecasters say. Up to 8 inches and wind gusts of more than 40 mph were likely through eastern Georgia and the Carolinas and possibly Virginia later in the week and approaching Labor Day weekend.
“By late week, the storm can turn toward the east and reemerge over the Atlantic Ocean,” Buckingham said. “At this point, little reintensification can be expected, and the system will be moving away from the East Coast toward Bermuda.”
Hurricane Franklin, the season’s first ‘ major’ hurricane
Hurricane Franklin was rapidly intensifying and had reached Category 4 strength Monday with maximum sustained winds estimated at 145 mph. The first “major” hurricane of the season, the storm was centered north of Grand Turk Island and was moving north- northwest.
Later this week, Franklin was forecast to hit Bermuda, AccuWeather said. Franklin also was expected to be felt along the U. S. East Coast, where “rough surf and rip currents could imperil swimmers as summer winds down,” AccuWeather warned.
ALABAMA Montgomery: The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that the state can continue work on a new bridge that will give motorists an alternate route to state beaches.
ALASKA Juneau: Nearly half of the state’s payroll processing jobs are left unfulfilled, causing paycheck problems for other state employees, the Alaska Beacon reported.
ARIZONA Prescott: A young college student who was brutally killed on a Prescott hiking trail decades ago was the victim of a serial predator who took his own life years later, authorities said.
ARKANSAS Little Rock: A dispatcher died after being shot at a Little Rockarea ambulance service’s parking lot, and her estranged husband was charged in her death.
CALIFORNIA Santa Ana: California’s attorney general sued a Southern California school district over its recently adopted policy that requires schools to notify parents if their children change their gender identification or pronouns. Attorney General Rob Bonta said he filed a lawsuit against the Chino Valley Unified School District over the policy that mandated this notification, calling it a “forced outing” of transgender students that violates their civil rights.
COLORADO Fort Collins: Larimer County leaders and members of the sheriff ’ s office celebrated the final milestone in the yearslong jail expansion project with a ribbon- cutting.
CONNECTICUT Hartford: Connecticut was getting a handle on homelessness issues, but now more people are becoming homeless again. After years of fewer and fewer people being homeless in the state, 2021 saw a 13% increase in the number of homeless individuals to 2,930, and 2022 saw a 2.9% increase in homelessness to 3,015, according to Advancing CT Together’s Housing Inventory Count Point in Time Reports for 2022 and 2023. However, both years saw decreasing chronic homelessness.
DELAWARE Wilmington: Delmarva Power is proposing a rate increase on electric customers that will boost its revenue by $ 55.5 million. By September, the average customer’s electricity bill will be more than $ 7 higher than it was at the start of the summer.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden shook hands with middle schoolers heading to lunch and dropped by an eighth grade math class to welcome students back for the new school year. The Bidens went to Eliot- Hine Middle School, located east of the U. S. Capitol, to mark the District of Columbia’s first day of school for the 2023- 24 year.
FLORIDA Fort Lauderdale: A medical rescue helicopter caught fire and broke apart shortly after takeoff before crashing into an apartment complex near Fort Lauderdale, killing a paramedic captain on board and a resident on the ground, authorities said. Two others on board and two other people at the apartment complex were injured.
GEORGIA Savannah: Georgia’s oldest city, steeped in history predating the American Revolution, made a historic break with its slavery- era past as Savannah’s city council voted to rename a downtown square in honor of a Black woman who taught formerly enslaved people to read and write.
HAWAII Honolulu: Hawaii’s electric utility acknowledged its power lines started a wildfire on Maui but faulted county firefighters for declaring the blaze contained and leaving the scene, only to have a second wildfire break out nearby and become the deadliest in the U. S. in more than a century.
IDAHO Boise: A judge has ordered far- right activist Ammon Bundy to stop posting defamatory and “harmful” statements about St. Luke’s Health System and its employees, the Idaho Statesman reported.
ILLINOIS Chicago: A judge refused to dismiss the case against a father who helped his son obtain a gun license three years before authorities say the younger man fatally shot seven people at a 2022 Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago.
INDIANA Indianapolis: Civil rights advocates are suing Indiana’s Department of Corrections over the state’s law prohibiting gender- affirming surgery for inmates.
IOWA Des Moines: A trial begins for the first of two teens charged with murder in a shooting at a Des Moines alternative school that left two students dead and the program’s founder injured.
KANSAS Salina: A new kind of program to learn aviation mechanics and maintenance is being developed in Salina as industry partners and local entities look to address an ongoing worker shortage in the field.
KENTUCKY Louisville: Gov. Andy Beshear said that building roads and bridges shouldn’t be a partisan matter, but his Republican opponent in the governor’s race tried to deflect any credit away from the incumbent Democrat for a burst of projects underway.
LOUISIANA Lafayette: Workers in Louisiana’s largest parishes saw their wages rise significantly from the beginning of 2022 to the beginning of 2023, according to new data from the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with some parishes seeing wages rise by more than 10% over that span.
MAINE Hollis: Three state troopers and a trooper- in- training were hit by a car alongside a road while investigating a family dispute, officials said.
MARYLAND Rockville: An oral surgeon was convicted of a murder charge in the death of his girlfriend who overdosed on anesthetic drugs that he administered at his home.
MASSACHUSETTS Boston: Police would be given the power to remove tents and other makeshift shelters at a Boston intersection that’s become home to a sprawling encampment for the homeless, many of whom struggle with mental health issues and substance abuse disorder, Mayor Michelle Wu and other city officials announced. The plan also calls for a new short- term shelter for up to 30 people in the area known as Mass and Cass.
MICHIGAN Lansing: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will call on state lawmakers this week to pass legislation proactively protecting key provisions in the Affordable Care Act, including no- cost preventive services, as the nation’s health law continues to face legal challenges in federal court.
MINNESOTA Minneapolis: The U. S. Forest Service said it has rejected the expansion plans of Lutsen Mountains, one of the premier skiing destinations in the Midwest. Lutsen Mountains was hoping to expand onto 495 acres of public land in the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota so it could add more runs, lifts and other facilities and essentially double its skiable terrain in the Sawtooth Mountains along the north shore of Lake Superior.
MISSISSIPPI Tunica: A new electric car factory in northwest Mississippi has produced its first vehicle, and California- based Mullen Automotive is celebrating the fresh investment in the Mid- South’s growing EV industry.
MISSOURI St. Louis: A death row inmate is suing Gov. Mike Parson over the governor’s decision to dissolve a board of inquiry that was convened to investigate the man’s innocence claim.
MONTANA Bozeman: A woman who pleaded guilty to torturing and killing her 12- year- old grandson more than three years ago has been sentenced to spend the rest of her life in prison.
NEBRASKA Lincoln: Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center announced that it has acquired an additional 310 acres of native prairie, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.
NEVADA Las Vegas: The Clark County Education Association is calling on Gov. Joe Lombardo to intervene and end the stalemate between the teachers union and the county school district as bitter contract negotiations continue.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: A court- martial has been scheduled early next year for a New Hampshire National Guard officer who is expected to be charged with assault and sexual harassment, according to the U. S. Army.
NEW JERSEY Camden: The Battleship New Jersey in the near future will leave its pier for the first time since it opened more than 20 years ago as a waterfront museum. Museum officials say the ship will be towed a few miles down the Delaware River for major maintenance in the same South Philadelphia drydock where it was built in the early 1940s. The ship will be moved sometime between fall and winter depending on when total funding is secured, said museum spokesman Jack Willard.
NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: New Mexico’s governor is demanding that horse racing regulators make immediate changes to address the use of performance enhancing drugs at the state’s tracks and that they consult with Kentucky, California and New York on best practices to ensure drug- free racing.
NEW YORK New York: A man fleeing police officers on a motorcycle died after a sergeant hurled a plastic picnic cooler at his head from close range, causing a violent crash, authorities said.
NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Michael Morgan – one of only two Democrats on the high court – announced that he’ll be stepping down at the beginning of next month. Morgan declined to outline his future plans but told WRAL- TV that he still has “a desire to make a difference in the state of North Carolina” and that “after I get off the court, I can focus on how that might best be accomplished.”
OHIO Blendon: Police fatally shot a pregnant woman in a supermarket parking lot after she accelerated her car toward an officer, police officials said.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: A former illegal marijuana grow farm in Johnston County will go on the auction block next month.
OREGON Salem: Five Republican state senators are suing to be allowed to run for reelection next year even though they accumulated a large number of unexcused absences during a walkout aimed at blocking votes on abortion rights and gun safety.
PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia: At least two people were killed and three others were wounded in gun violence over the weekend, including a man who was gunned down near Independence Hall, authorities said.
RHODE ISLAND Cranston: A fight between inmates that led to minor injuries to a correctional officer and a standoff with other inmates prompted the lockdown of the Adult Correctional Institutions’ maximum security facility.
SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: Convicted murderer and former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges he stole millions of dollars from clients, according to court records. If Murdaugh doesn’t change his mind before standing in front of a judge on Sept. 21, it would mark the first time he admits guilt for any crime in court.
SOUTH DAKOTA Yankton: An infant died after being left in a car on a scorching day, police said.
TENNESSEE Nashville: Don Sundquist, a Republican who was twice elected governor of Tennessee and also served 12 years in Congress, died. He was 87.
TEXAS McKinney: A Texas prosecutor says he will not seek the death penalty for a man convicted of killing two elderly women and suspected of killing nearly two dozen total.
UTAH St. George: The National Park Service has named Cassity Bromley as the new superintendent of Capitol Reef National Park.
VERMONT South Royalton: An artist has lost his appeal to remove fabric panels concealing murals he painted to honor African Americans and abolitionists involved in the Underground Railroad but that officials at the Vermont law school where they’re housed found to be racially insensitive. Artist Sam Kerson created the colorful murals entitled “Vermont, The Underground Railroad” and “Vermont and the Fugitive Slave” in 1993 on two walls inside a building at the private Vermont Law School, now called Vermont Law and Graduate School.
VIRGINIA Richmond: The Virginia legislators who have been leading negotiations over the months- delayed state budget announced they have reached agreement on the “major components” of a compromise proposal that would boost education spending and offer some tax relief.
WASHINGTON Seattle: DoorDash will pay $ 1.6 million to its workers after a Seattle investigation found the company failed to implement the city’s required sick and safe time policy. The city’s Office of Labor Standards said that the San Francisco- based delivery company, which contracts workers to make food deliveries, violated city requirements for the second time, The Seattle Times reported.
WEST VIRGINIA Chesapeake: Thunderstorms dumped heavy rains that caused significant flooding in parts of West Virginia, authorities said. Gov. Jim Justice issued a state of emergency in at least five counties, enabling the National Guard to activate swift- water rescue teams and use helicopters in areas hit by flooding.
WISCONSIN Madison: University of Wisconsin System leaders plan to ask Republican lawmakers this fall to release about half of the $ 32 million they withheld in the hopes of defunding campus diversity initiatives, a top UW budget analyst said. Sean Nelson, the system’s vice president of finance and administration, told regents that system leaders will ask the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee in October to release about
$ 15 million. He said the system plans to submit a proposal to spend the money on engineering, data, science and nursing programs.
WYOMING Cheyenne: A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by University of Wyoming sorority members over the admission of a transgender member, the Casper Star- Tribune reported.
From USA TODAY Network and wire reports