Formed Sunday, Aug. 27 in Caribbean waters near southeastern Mexico, Tropical Storm Idalia is expected to track toward Florida, which it is expected to reach as a hurricane Wednesday morning, according to forecasts from the National Hurricane Center. (NHC) American.
As of 8 p.m. local time on Sunday (2 a.m. Monday Paris time), Idalia was 165 kilometers east of the Mexican island of Cozumel, with sustained winds of up to 75 km/h, it said. the NHC.
According to a map of the center published on its website with the projection of the trajectory of Idalia, the latter should not approach Mexican territory, but it is expected to become a hurricane in its ascent from the Gulf of Mexico towards Florida, where she is expected in the northwest of the state on Wednesday morning.
A hurricane warning has been issued by the NHC for much of West Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in 33 counties.
Heavy rainfall in Mexico
In the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, home to Cancun and other resorts on the Mayan coast, Idalia brought rainfall and cloud masses that thwarted tourists’ plans for this final weekend of the summer vacation. summer. Rains, winds and strong waves are expected in this state as well as in neighboring Yucatán and Campeche, warned the National Meteorological Service of Mexico.
The previous weekend, Hurricane Hilary, which reached category 4 out of 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale (between 210 and 250 km / h), hit the Mexican state of Baja California (northwest ), on the Pacific coast, causing one death and damaging infrastructure, before entering American territory.
Mexico is plagued by hurricanes on its Pacific and Atlantic coasts every year, usually between May and November. In the United States, Florida was hit last year by Hurricane Ian, classified as a category 5, which killed nearly 150 people and caused significant damage as it passed through the south-west of this state.
