At least one person has been confirmed dead after Tropical Storm Lee brought strong winds, heavy rain and dangerous storm surge to parts of New England and southeastern Canada this weekend.
Lee made landfall on Saturday in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia as a post-tropical cyclone with powerful winds approaching hurricane strength, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. The storm arrived on shore with maximum sustained wind speeds of 70 miles per hour, meteorologists said at the time. That was just a few miles short of the threshold necessary for a tropical storm to be considered a Category 1 hurricane, which is assigned when maximum sustained winds reach 75 mph.
A 51-year-old man died Saturday in Searsport, Maine, a coastal town and seaport about 50 miles from Bar Harbor, after a large tree limb fell on his vehicle and brought down power lines with it, CBS affiliate WABI-TV and the Associated Press reported, citing Searsport police. CBS News independently confirmed one fatality through the police dispatch Saturday, although they would not provide details as to how it occurred.
According WABI, the incident happened while the man was driving along Route 1 near Prospect Street at around 9 a.m. ET on Saturday morning, which coincided with strong winds that ripped through the area with Lee’s arrival. Emergency personnel who responded to the scene had to wait for crews from Central Maine Power to cut electricity to the downed lines before they could remove the man from his car, according to the station and the Associated Press. Authorities have not publicly identified the man, who died after being transported to a local hospital.
A warning sign is displayed on Park Loop Rd. along shoreline closure at Acadia National Park in Maine on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023.
Robert Bumsted / AP
CBS News contacted the Searsport Public Safety Department on Sunday for more information about the death but did not receive an immediate reply.
Maine State Police urged people to “stay vigilant” while driving on Saturday, warning about the possibility of falling trees and debris caused by Lee’s winds in a Facebook post. The post included an image of a shattered van windshield that part of a tree had crashed through, which belonged to a man from Ohio who was driving south on Route 11 in Moro Plantation when he “he observed a large tree that was falling into the roadway,” the state police force said. The top of the tree went through the windshield, with the impact causing a section of it to break off inside the van. The driver sustained minor cuts in the incident, and five other passengers inside the van were not injured.
Lee intensified quickly as it tracked northward through the Atlantic Ocean last week, growing into a Category 5 hurricane before its wind speeds gradually declined over the course of the week. Although the storm did not make landfall until Saturday, it caused life-threatening surf and rip current conditions for days along a wide section of the U.S. East Coast. Various storm watches and warnings were in effect for coastal parts of Maine, New Hampshire and the Canadian Maritime Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, as the storm moved in on Nova Scotia. A tropical storm warning for Maine was canceled by Saturday night.
The storm’s maximum sustained winds had decreased further by Sunday morning to 44 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. In a bulletin issued at 8 a.m. ET, meteorologists said that Lee was expected to pick up speed as it tracked northeast over the next several days, reaching Newfoundland by Sunday afternoon and Atlantic waters by Monday morning.
Hurricane Lee, now a powerful Category 5 storm churning in the Atlantic, is expected to continue strengthening Friday as it makes its way west, the National Hurricane Center says.
While the storm’s intensity could fluctuate in the coming days, “Lee is expected to remain a major hurricane through early next week,” the center said late Thursday night.
Large ocean swells generated by Lee are expected to reach the Lesser Antilles by Friday, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Hispaniola by the weekend, the hurricane center said.
“These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” the agency reported.
However, Lee’s center is forecast to pass “well to the north” of those islands, the agency added.
As of 11 p.m. ET on Thursday, Lee had maximum sustained winds of 160 mph. Its center was about 705 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, and it was traveling west-northwest at 14 mph over the Atlantic Ocean.
The long-term track for Lee remains unclear as meteorologists continue monitoring the storm for signs it could shift over the open ocean and turn more toward the mainland U.S. coast, with questions circulating about the potential path it could take.
“Even as we head into Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday it does weaken, that’s good news as it heads towards the U.S.,” CBS News senior weather and climate producer David Parkinson said Friday night.
Parkinson laid out a few possible scenarios for Lee. One would involve a cold front coming off the East Coast that could trap Lee and push it north against the coastline, bringing potentially stormy weather to areas along the coast.
However, if no cold front were to form, Parkinson explained that Lee would then potentially stay out at sea for a longer period until it were to reach Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. By that point, it may be significantly weakened.
This is one of the most impressive rapid intensification episodes I’ve ever seen in the Atlantic. Hurricane #Lee went from having no eye this morning to possibly Cat 5 intensity this evening. Absolutely incredible. pic.twitter.com/49NmtkIJO2
As meteorologists predicted, Lee has gained strength quickly. Early Wednesday, Lee’s center was packing maximum sustained winds of 65 mph — a pickup of 15 mph in mere hours. It then grew into a hurricane, which happens when a storm’s maximum sustained wind speeds reach 74 mph, according to the Saffir-Simpson scale.
Once wind speeds exceed 95 mph, it was upgraded to Category 2, and when maximum sustained winds reached 111 mph, it became a major Category 3 storm. A Category 4 has winds of 130 to 156 mph, and Category 5 hits 157 mph or higher.
Meteorologists consider storms that fall within Category 3, 4, or 5 on the ranking scale to be “major” hurricanes, due to their potential to cause “significant loss of life and damage,” the National Hurricane Center says.
Officials have not yet issued any storm or hurricane watches or warnings for places that could potentially be in Lee’s path.
This comes just days after Hurricane Idalia left a path of destruction across the Southeast.
That storm made landfall Wednesday in Florida, where it razed homes and downed power poles. It then headed northeast, slamming Georgia, flooding many of South Carolina’s beachfronts and sending seawater into the streets of downtown Charleston. In North Carolina, it poured more than 9 inches of rain on Whiteville, flooding downtown buildings.
Idalia claimed at least two lives, one in Florida and the other in Georgia.
Here’s what to know about the storm, where it may be headed, and when it will become a hurricane.
When did Lee become a hurricane?
The National Hurricane Center said in an update shared at 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday that Tropical Storm Lee had strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane. As of late Wednesday night, the storm had maximum sustained winds of about 80 miles per hour and was continuing to strengthen.
The storm is expected to become a “major hurricane” by Friday, the NHC said, as the storm intensifies at a “steady to rapid” pace. It may become a Category 4 hurricane — a potentially “catastrophic” storm with sustained wind speeds of 130-156 mph — as it travels over very warm water.
Satellite image of Lee over the Atlantic on Sept. 6, 2023.
NOAA GOES Image Viewer
Where is Hurricane Lee heading?
The storm is moving west-northwest at about 14 miles per hour, the NHC said Wednesday night. This path is expected to continue, the center said, with a “slight reduction in forward speed over the weekend.”
Hurricane Lee is expected to pass near the northern Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico this weekend. The Leeward Islands are a group of islands located where the Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean, and include the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Large ocean swells are expected to reach the Lesser Antilles by Friday, and then the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Bermuda and Hispaniola by the weekend, the hurricane center said.
Hurricane Lee’s projected path. Sept. 6, 2023.
NOAA/National Weather Service
Its center was about 1,035 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands as of Wednesday night. The Leeward Islands includes the Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Saint Martin and Saint Kitts.
There are no coastal warnings or watches in effect at this time, the hurricane center said, but “interests in the Leeward Islands should monitor the progress of Lee.”
“The most probable scenario is that Lee will track far enough north to bring just a brush of gusty winds and showers to the northern Leeward Islands,” The Weather Channel reported. But it adds, “we can’t fully rule out a more southern track that takes Lee closer or directly through the islands with more serious impacts.”
The longer range forecast is uncertain, but meteorologists will be watching to see if Lee starts steering towards the U.S. mainland or remains on a path over open ocean.
Is Hurricane Lee going to hit Florida?
Hurricane Lee is not forecast to impact the United States at this time, CBS Miami reported. CBS Miami chief meteorologist and hurricane specialist Ivan Cabrera Lee said the storm system is expected to turn to the north and away from the U.S. coast, but weather experts will continue to monitor its progress and track it closely.
Florida is currently recovering from Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall along the Gulf Coast last Wednesday and left a trail of damage across the Big Bend region — the area where the Florida peninsula meets the panhandle. The storm caused severe flooding in Florida and other states including Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, before moving out to sea. Several deaths have been attributed to the storm, and the financial toll of the hurricane could reach $20 billion, CBS News previously reported.
Spaghetti weather models, or spaghetti plots, are computer models showing the possible paths a storm may take as it develops. These models don’t predict the impact or when a storm may hit, according to the Weather Channel, but focus on showing which areas might potentially be at risk.
Spaghetti models for Hurricane Lee mostly show the storm traveling over the ocean. Some paths might take the storm close to the Leeward Islands. A recent spaghetti model for Lee created at 6 a.m. ET Wednesday shows most projected paths curving northward and remaining out over the open Atlantic, but a few veer more to the west for a potential impact in the islands or along the U.S. Mid-Atlantic or New England coast next week.
CBS New York reports the forecast models have been going back and forth on the track of the storm — on Sunday night they were suggesting a landfall in the Mid-Atlantic region, then on Monday, going out to sea. As of Wednesday, the track is much closer to the East Coast. The ECMWF, or European model, has Lee staying out to sea, and not making a direct landfall, but coming very close to the U.S. mainland. Meanwhile, the GFS, or American model, has Lee scraping Cape Cod, and then heading into the Canadian Maritimes.
Meteorologists expect to get a clearer picture of the storm’s likely path as it continues to develop in the coming days.
Tropical Storm Lee continued to gain strength Wednesday morning and is “expected to rapidly intensify into an extremely dangerous hurricane by the weekend,” the National Hurricane Center says. Lee is forecast to become a major hurricane by early Saturday.
Forecasters say it’s too soon to project where Lee is headed in the U.S. or what the extent of its potential impacts might look like, but for now the Leeward Islands, where the Caribbean and Atlantic meet, should stay alert.
“Swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip currents across portions of the Lesser Antilles late this week,” according to the hurricane center, which said swells generated by the storm will reach portions of that area on Friday. Lee could impact the northern Leeward Islands this weekend, the center said.
11AM AST Sep 6: #Lee is forecast to become a major hurricane by early Saturday. Swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip currents across portions of the Lesser Antilles late this week. Stay up to date with the latest at https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFbpic.twitter.com/2CVr855fan
As of 11 a.m. EDT on Wednesday morning, Lee was still traveling west-northwest at 14 miles per hour over the southern Atlantic Ocean, with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph. Its center was about 1,200 miles east of the northern Leewards.
“Continued steady to rapid strengthening is forecast and Lee is expected to become a hurricane later (Wednesday) and a major hurricane in a couple of days,” the hurricane center said in an earlier advisory on the storm.
Lee’s expected path as of 11 a.m. EDT on September 6, 2023.
National Hurricane Center
At the time, Lee’s center was some 1,265 miles east-southeast of the northern Leewards moving west-northwest at 14 mph and packing maximum sustained winds of 65 mph — a pickup of 15 mph in mere hours. Once Lee’s maximum sustained winds hit 74 mph, it will be a hurricane.
This comes just days after Hurricane Idalia left a path of destruction across the Southeast.
That storm made landfall Wednesday in Florida, where it razed homes and downed power poles. It then headed northeast, slamming Georgia, flooding many of South Carolina’s beachfronts and sending seawater into the streets of downtown Charleston. In North Carolina, it poured more than 9 inches of rain on Whiteville, flooding downtown buildings.
Idalia claimed at least two lives, one in Florida and the other in Georgia.
While Idalia has moved out to the Atlantic Ocean and is now a post-tropical cyclone, the storm’s effects are still being felt along the East Coast. The Weather Channel meteorologist Mike Bettes takes a look at how it will impact Labor Day weekend.
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Communities along Florida’s Gulf Coast are picking up the pieces after Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 storm. Omar Villafranca takes a firsthand look at the damage in Cedar Key.
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Idalia strengthened into an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico early Wednesday but then weakened slightly back to a Category 3. Still, it was bringing a “catastrophic” storm surge and “destructive” winds as it headed for landfall in the morning along Florida’s Gulf Coast, the National Hurricane Center warned.
Its path is expected to impact a wide central portion of the state, including cities such as Tampa and Orlando, before moving along the Georgia and Carolina coastline Wednesday into Thursday.
Hurricane Idalia ever-so-close to making landfall over the Florida Panhandle early on August 30, 2023.
National Hurricane Center / NOAA
When is Hurricane Idalia expected to make landfall?
Idalia is expected to reach land along the Gulf Coast of Florida early Wednesday, likely in the Big Bend area, with hurricane conditions extending along the coast.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a briefing that people living along Florida’s Gulf Coast should prepare for “major impacts” from the oncoming storm.
At a briefing Tuesday evening, DeSantis urged people to leave immediately if they are in an evacuation zone.
“If you stay hunkered down tonight, it’s going to be too nasty tomorrow morning to be able to do it,” he said.
“If you do choose to stay in one of the evacuation zones, first responders will not be able to get you until after the storm has passed.”
Hurricane Idalia’s location and warnings
Idalia was moving toward the Florida coast from the Gulf of Mexico. As the storm intensified, meteorologists warned that it could bring “catastrophic” storm surge and “destructive winds” to the Big Bend region as it moved over land.
The hurricane center said that, “After landfall, Idalia is forecast to turn toward the northeast and east-northeast, moving near or along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina late today (Wednesday) and Thursday.”
“While Idalia should weaken after landfall,” the center continued, “it is likely to still be a hurricane while moving across southern Georgia, and near the coast of Georgia or southern South Carolina late today. Idalia should emerge off the southeastern United States coast early on Thursday and move eastward through late week.”
As of 5 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Idalia’s center was approximately 60 miles west of Cedar Key, Fla. and 90 miles south of Tallahassee. The storm was moving north-northeast at 18 mph with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour, the threshold for a major Category 4, according to the hurricane center.
A storm must have maximum sustained winds of at least 74 mph for it to be classified as a hurricane. Once wind speeds reach 111 mph, the hurricane becomes a Category 3 and is considered a major storm.
On Facebook early Wednesday, Cedar Key resident Michael Presley Bobbitt posted video of water coming up to his home and said, “The water just keeps coming. Pray for Cedar Key.”
CBS News senior weather and climate producer David Parkinson noted Tuesday that current estimates suggest the storm could arrive on Wednesday by 11 a.m. EDT. He said the massive storm surge expected to accompany Idalia’s arrival on land “is the primary threat with this storm.”
“There is likely a level of people being caught off guard farther south as the storm is just skirting by,” he said. “The storm surge may go as far as US19 inland, so there’s a lot of area covered by that, even if the coast isn’t populated like near Naples. No one alive in these areas has seen flooding this bad there if it hits max potential.”
Forecasters have put communities under a range of severe weather advisories, from hurricane and tropical storm warnings and watches to storm surge warnings and watches.
Hurricane warnings were extended up the East Coast from Altamaha Sound, Georgia to Edisto Beach, South Carolina. A storm surge warning was extended to the stretch from St. Catherine’s Sound, Georgia to the South Santee River in South Carolina.
Previously, hurricane warnings were in effect from the middle of Longboat Key northward to Indian Pass, Fla., including Tampa Bay and a storm surge warning was issued from Englewood north to Indian Pass, including Tampa Bay.
The hurricane center says the storm surge could get as high as 16 feet in the area from the Wakulla/Jefferson County line in Florida Yankeetown, Fla. and as high as 6 feet in Tampa Bay.
At a Thursday morning briefing as Idalia bore down on Florida, DeSantis said water the deep is “life-threatening.”
He urged people to “hunker down” if they’re indoors,” stressing that Idalia is a “big, big deal” and “very dangerous.”
DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 49 counties and the state mobilized more than 5,500 National Guard members to respond to the storm. Between 30,000 and 40,000 electricity workers would be on hand to restore power after the storm hits, the governor said.
Evacuation orders or recommendations were posted in 28 counties and dozens of school districts across Florida had suspended classes.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Franklin, to the east over the Atlantic, was churning on a track that’s expected to keep it off the East Coast.
It was a major Category 3 hurricane early Wednesday packing 115 mph sustained winds and bringing “life-threatening surf and rip currents” along the East Coast and was forecast to bring tropical storm conditions to Bermuda starting later on Wednesday, the hurricane center said.
Meteorologists rate hurricanes according to the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale, categorizing storms that fall within Categories 3, 4 or 5 as “major” hurricanes capable of causing “significant loss of life and damage,” according to the National Hurricane Center. The categories are based on a hurricane’s maximum sustained wind speeds.
Where is Hurricane Idalia going to hit?
Florida’s Gulf Coast is in Idalia’s sights, putting communities at risk in central parts of the state and up through the Panhandle.
With hurricane preparations underway, DeSantis urged people living in low-lying coastal areas along the Gulf, many of whom are under evacuation notices ahead of Idalia’s anticipated arrival, to move to higher ground until the storm passes.
“You run from the water and you hide from the wind. If you’re there in that storm surge, you’re putting your life in jeopardy when it gets to be that high,” the governor said.
Map shows the forecast for dangerous storm surge from Hurricane Idalia in Florida, as of Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023.
NOAA/National Weather Service
A major hurricane has never entered the Apalachee Bay, located just south of Tallahassee where the Florida peninsula meets the mainland U.S., said the city’s National Weather Service branch, which called the potential arrival of Idalia “unprecedented” and warned that hurricane “preparations need to be rushed to completion by sunset” on Tuesday.
Conditions were expected to “rapidly deteriorate” after that, the weather service said.
“Hurricane Idalia will likely be an unprecedented event for many locations in the Florida Big Bend. Looking back through recorded history, NO major hurricanes have ever moved through the Apalachee Bay. When you try to compare this storm to others, DON’T. No one has seen this,” reads a message posed to the front page of the website for NWS Tallahassee.
As Idalia intensified Tuesday, DeSantis told Florida residents: “There’s a huge number of counties that are going to feel impacts from this.” He referenced updated computer models from the National Hurricane Center that indicated the storm could impact inland areas as well, including Columbia County and Madison County, which sit near Florida’s border with Georgia, between Tallahassee and Jacksonville.
Earlier, the National Weather Service warned, “The risk continues to increase for life-threatening storm surge and dangerous hurricane-force winds along portions of the west coast of Florida and the Florida Panhandle beginning as early as late Tuesday.”
As the agency noted, storm surge watches and hurricane watches were in effect for large portions of the Gulf Coast of Florida.
Storm surge could reach up to 12 feet or 15 feet for much of northwestern Florida and into the panhandle, meteorologists warned, while coastal areas as far south as Cape Sable, in the Everglades, and the Florida Keys could see storm surges of up to 2 or 3 feet above ground level.
Storm surge is a rise in water levels caused by hurricane-force winds that push water toward shore and over areas of land that are normally dry, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This phenomenon is considered the greatest threat to life during a hurricane.
Forecasters also warned that “areas of flash and urban flooding, some of which may be locally significant, are expected across portions of the west coast of Florida, the Florida Panhandle, and southern Georgia Tuesday into Wednesday, spreading into portions of the eastern Carolinas Wednesday into Thursday.”
Tropical storm warnings were issued for areas stretching from the Altamaha Sound in Georgia to the South Santee River in South Carolina as of 11 a.m. on Tuesday. A tropical storm watch was in effect for much of the Carolina coast, from the South Santee River up to Surf City in North Carolina.
8/28 10am CDT: There is a danger of life-threatening storm surge inundation from #Idalia along portions of the Florida Gulf Coast where a Storm Surge Warning is in effect, including Tampa Bay & the Big Bend. Residents in these areas should follow advice from local officials. pic.twitter.com/t0s8WghUJu
A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the boundaries of the warning area, while a hurricane watch means those conditions are possible, according to the National Hurricane Center. Forecasters are urging people in areas under hurricane warnings to prepare for the onset of conditions within the next 12 to 24 hours. People living in areas placed under storm surge watches should prepare for the “possibility of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline” over the next 48 hours, the hurricane center said.
There is a possibility of strong and potentially damaging wind gusts from Idalia that could “extend well eastward from the storm’s center” once it makes landfall in Florida, the weather service said. Meteorologists added that torrential downpours could also happen in eastern parts of the state, which may be subject to increasing tornado threats as well.
Map of Hurricane Idalia’s projected path
Meteorologists are forecasting a northeastern path for Idalia as it intensifies, tracking over the Gulf of Mexico toward the northwest coast of Florida throughout Tuesday and into Wednesday.
After making landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast, Idalia is expected to continue across northern Florida and coastal Georgia and the Carolinas on Wednesday and Thursday, decreasing in strength as it travels.
NOAA / NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
Will Idalia and Franklin hit Florida at the same time?
Hurricane Franklin is not expected to hit Florida, but it will cause rough surf conditions and rip currents. Officials haven’t issued any forecasts suggesting that Franklin will make landfall anywhere along the East Coast.
Satellite image shows Hurricane Idalia, center, and Hurricane Franklin, right, on August 29, 2023.
NOAA
As Idalia approaches, the National Weather Service has issued tropical storm watches and warnings for parts of eastern central Florida, including Orlando, where residents have been urged to prepare for “local tropical storm conditions by Tuesday night and into Wednesday.
An incoming “long-period swell” in the Atlantic caused by Hurricane Franklin will make the coast susceptible to “high seas, rough surf, an increase in life-threatening rip currents, and beach erosion during high tides during Tuesday and Wednesday,” according to the hurricane center.
A Florida utility is preparing for power outages as Tropical Storm Idalia chugs toward the state’s Gulf Coast region, where it is expected to turn into a Category 3 hurricane before making landfall on Wednesday.
Duke Energy said Monday it is mobilizing 4,500 employees, including power line technicians, vegetation workers, damage assessors and support personnel, to respond to any disruptions to the electric grid in potentially affected areas.
“Duke Energy is actively monitoring Idalia’s path, intensity and timing, and staging resources in safe locations to respond to outages as soon as it’s safe to do so,” Todd Fountain, storm director at Duke Energy Florida, said in a statement. “As we prepare to respond, it’s important our customers take this storm seriously and ensure their homes and families are prepared.”
Forecasters project that the storm system will make landfall along the west coast of Florida, threatening communities in central parts of the state, including cities like Orlando and Tampa, and up through the panhandle.
“Idalia is now forecast to become a major hurricane before it reaches the Gulf coast of Florida,” the National Weather Service tweeted on Monday morning. “The risk continues to increase for life-threatening storm surge and dangerous hurricane-force winds along portions of the west coast of Florida and the Florida Panhandle beginning as early as late Tuesday.”
Members of the Tampa, Fla., Parks and Recreation Department help local residents load sandbags on Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Idalia, which forecasters warned could make landfall on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane.
Chris O’Meara / AP
The company’s Florida operation, a subsidiary of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Duke Energy, also advised local residents to prepare for the approaching storm, including:
Arranging alternative shelter in case of power outages, especially seniors and people with special medical needs.
Ensuring that people have enough flashlights, batteries, bottled water, nonperishable foods, medicines and other necessities on hand, along with a portable, battery-operated radio, TV or weather radio.
Arranging backup power for residents who rely on medical equipment and planning on how to transport someone to the nearest hospital in case of an emergency.
Duke Energy also advised Floridians to stay away from downed or sagging power lines. Residents can report such hazards to the utility at (800) 228-8485 or contact local emergency services, the company said.
“Consider all lines energized as well as trees or limbs in contact with lines,” Duke Energy noted.
Customers can stay abreast of any power disruptions by signing up for outage alerts, said the company, which supplies electricity to 1.9 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in Florida.
Storm surge and hurricane watches have been issued for portions of Cuba and the Florida Gulf Coast as Tropical Storm Idalia is forecast to become a hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center said.
The NHC issued a storm surge watch Sunday afternoon for the Gulf Coast from Chokoloskee to Indian Pass, and a hurricane watch from Englewood to Indian Pass. Both watches include Tampa Bay.
A tropical storm watch was also issued for the Gulf Coast south of Englewood to Chokoloskee, and for the Dry Tortugas, NHC said in its latest public advisory.
4 PM CDT 27 Aug: #Idalia is forecast to become a hurricane over the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Storm Surge and Hurricane Watches have been issued for portions of the Florida Gulf Coast. Interests in Florida need to closely monitor the latest forecast updates: https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFbpic.twitter.com/LdE84OKWwm
Idalia had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph and was located about 145 miles south of Cuba as of Sunday night. It had been moving erratically and was “nearly stationary” as of 11 p.m. ET Sunday, but movement toward the north-northeast was expected Monday. Idalia is expected to strengthen to a hurricane on Monday.
The center of Idalia will move over the eastern Gulf of Mexico on Monday and Tuesday and approach the northeast Gulf Coast late Tuesday. The storm was predicted to be “near or at major hurricane intensity,” meaning Category 3 or higher, by the time it reaches Flordia.
“There is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds along portions of the west coast of Florida and the Florida Panhandle beginning as early as Tuesday,” the NHC said.
Flooding from heavy rainfall will be likely in portions of the southeast U.S. by mid to late week.
Thanks for reading CBS NEWS.
Create your free account or log in for more features.
In June, wildfire smoke from Canada caused poor air quality levels in cities across the U.S. In July came heat waves and heat domes. Now we have an August featuring tropical storms. CBS News senior weather and climate producer David Parkinson explains what’s going on.
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Communities in Southern California are cleaning up after record rainfall from Tropical Storm Hilary brought flooding and mudslides. Carter Evans reports.
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Tropical Storm Harold made landfall in Texas and has since weakened to a tropical depression after forming in the Gulf of Mexico overnight. Meanwhile, millions across the country are bracing for dangerously high temperatures. CBS affiliate KHOU-TV’s Matt Dougherty reports.
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
The remnants of Tropical Storm Harold are expected to bring rain and gusty wind to portions of southern Texas. The Weather Channel meteorologist Chris Warren tracks the storm and the high temperatures impacting millions.
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Tropical Storm Harold made landfall on Texas’ Padre Island in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday morning, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm was expected to bring heavy rains and powerful winds to southern Texas and northern Mexico as it moved inland.
The system is hitting the U.S. a day after Hilary drenched parts of California and Nevada. Harold was a tropical depression that strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico overnight and set its sights on Texas, the hurricane center said.
As of 10 a.m. CDT, the storm was located about 35 miles north of Port Mansfield, Texas, and about 50 miles south of Corpus Christi, Texas, according to the hurricane center. It had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and was heading west-northwest at 21 mph.
A tropical storm warning was up from the mouth of the Rio Grande to Port O’Connor and a tropical storm watch was issued from Port O’Connor to Sargent, Texas.
An infrared satellite image shows Tropical Storm Harold hitting Texas at 10:10 a.m. CDT on Aug. 22, 2023.
NOAA/NESDIS/STAR GOES-East
CBS News weather and climate producer David Parkinson says the area has been in a drought and is “parched.”
The hurricane center said earlier Harold was already starting to bring heavy rains and strong winds to the warning area and would move farther inland as the day wore on.
Tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 115 miles from Harold’s center.
The system is expected to produce 3 to 5 inches of rain with up to 7 in some spots through early Wednesday. Scattered instances of flash flooding are possible.
Thanks for reading CBS NEWS.
Create your free account or log in for more features.
Tropical Storm Hilary moved through Southern California overnight after making landfall in Mexico’s Baja California peninsula on Sunday. It’s been decades since a tropical storm hit California, and it brought record rainfall, flooding and mudslides. Carter Evans reports.
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Talking about the weather is supposed to be the safest conversation topic of all ― but apparently not for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
The smarmy Texas Republican retweeted a photo that supposedly showed a shark in the flooded waters of the 405 freeway in Los Angeles, but was, in reality, a variation on a hoax photo that’s been swimming on the internet since at least 2011.
“Holy crap,” the senator wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Tropical storm Hilary tore through Southern California on Sunday evening, causing flooded roads, mudslides and widespread power outages — but, as far as we can tell, no shark sightings.
Some people weren’t fooled one bit and quickly provided context to the tweet. A note was added to Cruz’s tweet informing readers that the doctored image, which has circulated online following several notable storms, originated with a photo showing a shark trailing a kayaker from a 2005 article in Africa Geographic.
Texas really can’t do better for a senator than a creature who groveled before Trump after he insulted his wife and now falls for a decade-plus old internet hoax? https://t.co/yQlfcUgtYc
But that didn’t help, especially after the guy who posted the tweet that fooled Cruz doubled down, and posted another fake photo of sharks swimming in a flooded mall.
I could describe the entire plot of Joker (2019) and tell him that it happened to my buddy Eric and he’d actually believe me. https://t.co/kN354XwpuS
Cruz doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to commenting on weather events.
This has been the case since February 2021, when the senator left his fellow Texans suffering record-cold temperatures and power outages to stay in sunny and warm Cancun, Mexico.
Cruz was criticized for his actions, and the resulting humiliation led him to fly back to Texas almost immediately.
