As Idalia gets stronger, Florida is placed on storm surge watch and Hurricane Gulf of Mexico. Here’s what that entails.

Idalia, a historic Hurricane Gulf of Mexico, was moving through the hot-tub-temperature waters of the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday (Photo: The Weather Channel)

Hurricane Gulf of Mexico and Storm Surge Alert in Florida

Idalia, the Hurricane Gulf of Mexico, keeps moving toward Florida in a terrifying direction. For the second year in a row, hate crimes in major U.S. cities reached a record high. A meteor was sought after by an astronomer in order to determine its origin.

Idalia, a historic Hurricane Gulf of Mexico, was moving through the hot-tub-temperature waters of the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, driving a potentially deadly storm surge toward the Big Bend area of Florida’s west coast as it spins toward landfall overnight or Wednesday morning. Officials warned residents across the state of a “life-threatening, dangerous situation.” 240 miles to the southwest of Tampa, Idalia was centered on Tuesday afternoon with winds of 90 mph.

While Hurricane Gulf of Mexico’s increasing wind speeds catch our attention, one of these storms’ deadlier and more devastating features is the surge of water that rises up into rivers and bays at the point of landfall. Homes can be blown from their foundations and low-lying areas kilometers inland can be flooded by the sudden rise of water that is topped by already high and violent waves.

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Hurricane Gulf of Mexico makes the shore more susceptible to water accumulation

Hurricane Gulf of Mexico winds on the open ocean force water toward the storm’s center. The water spirals downward and flows outward rather than stacking up. Some of the water is pushed out to sea as it is pushed downhill, while other water is forced toward the coast. The ocean floor prevents the outflowing water as the storm approaches land and shallow water, forcing the ocean to surge onto land.

The height of storm surge, or the difference in water levels as a storm approaches, can be influenced by the ocean floor and the morphology of the coast. The wide, gradually sloping continental shelf along the Hurricane Gulf of Mexico makes the shore more susceptible to water accumulation. Narrower shelves and steeper slopes along the Atlantic coast result in a smaller surge.

Speed and size are also significant. A faster-moving hurricane generates a higher surge when it approaches an open coast. However, a slower storm generates a greater surge when it approaches an enclosed bay, such as Tampa Bay on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Water level is impacted by many factors, including storm surge. The water level will be significantly greater if a storm hits during a lunar high tide. Storm tide is the name given to the surge and tide taken together.

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