- NEWS Desk Global
TROPICAL STORM IDALIA EXPECTED TO BECOME A MAJOR HURRICANE BEFORE HITTING FLORIDA
Florida residents loaded up on sandbags and evacuated from homes in low-lying areas along the Gulf Coast as Tropical Storm Idalia intensified Monday and forecasters predicted it would hit within days as a major hurricane with potentially life-threatening storm surges. As of Monday evening, the storm was about 35 miles south-southwest of the western tip of Cuba and moving north at 8 mph with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph.