Idalia is forecast to strengthen rapidly as it moves north into the Gulf of Mexico and closes in on the west coast of Florida, and will likely be a major, Category 3 hurricane as it makes landfall, forecasters said Monday.

“Idalia is poised to rapidly intensify today-tomorrow, meaning it can go from a tropical storm to a very dangerous hurricane within the next couple of days,” said Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science at the University of Miami, in a Monday morning post on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

“Plan to have preparations completed by the time tropical storm conditions arrive, and plan to evacuate if told to,” he said.

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