Currently in Miami — August 28, 2023: Distant Idalia may yield an indirect impact

The weather, currently.

Newly formed Tropical Storm Idalia is expected to pass well to the west of Miami and Ft Lauderdale through Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, but its influence will direct winds to blow from the south by early Monday, which will draw higher levels of moisture from lower latitudes towards South Florida. Rain activity is not expected to be too widespread on Monday, but it will intensify on Tuesday and Wednesday as the storm makes its closest approach and some of its feeder bands may align themselves over the local area. For now, expect scattered showers for Miami and numerous showers for Ft Lauderdale on Monday, with isolated to scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Temperatures will range from the low to mid 90s across the area.

El tiempo, actualmente.

Se espera que la recién formada tormenta tropical Idalia pase bastante al oeste de Miami y Ft Lauderdale a través del Golfo de México el martes, pero su influencia hará que los vientos soplen desde el sur a partir del lunes, lo que atraerá mayores niveles de humedad desde latitudes más bajas hacia el sur de Florida. No se espera que la actividad de lluvia sea demasiado generalizada el lunes, pero se intensificará el martes y miércoles a medida que la tormenta haga su paso más cercano y algunas de las bandas de alimentación de la tormenta puedan alinearse justo sobre el área local. Por ahora, espere aguaceros dispersos en Miami y numerosos en Ft Lauderdale el lunes, con tormentas eléctricas aisladas a dispersas por la tarde. Las temperaturas estarán en los rangos bajos a medios de los 90 grados.

—John Morales

What you need to know, currently.

Tropical Storm Idalia formed over the weekend, and is ramping up its intensity on a trajectory towards Florida.

Tampa Bay is currently in the cone of uncertainty for Idalia. Up to 11 feet of storm surge is expected from Idalia near the exact landfall location, with about 3-5 feet expected in the Tampa Bay region.

Since records began in 1850, only 5 hurricanes have ever directly struck the Tampa Bay region. Since the last one struck in 1946, the region’s population has grown 10-fold, from around 300,000 to more than 3 million today.

Due to the gentle sloping of the seafloor on the Florida Gulf coast, this area is especially prone to coastal flooding from hurricanes. In a worst-case scenario, a major hurricane making landfall just north of Tampa Bay could funnel as much as 26 feet of storm surge into the bay. Last year, a study found that the Tampa Bay metro area was even more vulnerable than New Orleans to storm surge flooding — second only to Miami and New York in the US.

—Eric Holthaus

What you can do, currently.

The fires in Maui have struck at the heart of Hawaiian heritage, and if you’d like to support survivors, here are good places to start:

The fires burned through the capital town of the Kingdom of Hawaii, the ancestral and present home to native Hawaiians on their original unceded lands. One of the buildings destroyed was the Na ‘Aikane o Maui cultural center, a gathering place for the Hawaiian community to organize and celebrate.

If you’d like to help the community rebuild and restore the cultural center, a fund has been established that is accepting donations — specify “donation for Na ‘Aikane” on this Venmo link.