Quick update on Idalia, although NHC did kick up the intensity a bit to 110 knots (125 mph), that’s not really making things too much worse except right around the landfall location. The track didn’t shift at all really except at the very end, out over the water. To give you an idea of how sparsely populated the landfall location is, while 9.3 million people might feel tropical storm force winds, less than 500,000 will be exposed to hurricane conditions as long as it keeps away from the Tampa area – and that’s what it seems to be doing. No changes to the analysis from this morning.
There is a new tropical depression in the middle of the Atlantic – of concern only to fish and fish related interests. It might get a name, but shouldn’t last long. Franklin is skirting Bermuda, tropical storm force winds and some light impacts, bigger issue are the waves and rip currents along the US East Coast that will be mixing it up with the impacts of Idalia tomorrow, so don’t plan on a day at the beach if you are off school Wednesday 😛