Idalia strengthened into a hurricane early Tuesday and is forecast to intensify quickly into an extremely dangerous major hurricane before making landfall over Florida's Gulf Coast Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center says.

Governor Ron DeSantis said in a news conference on Monday that the hurricane will likely become a Category 3 storm and he had placed over 1,000 National Guard troops on standby.

Local electrical crews from Riviera Utilities have already left Baldwin County and are proceeding to a staging area near Gainesville, Florida.

Here is the latest from the National Weather Service:

At 700 AM CDT (1200 UTC), the center of Hurricane Idalia was located

near latitude 23.8 North, longitude 84.8 West.  Idalia is moving

toward the north near 14 mph (22 km/h).  A northward motion is

expected today, followed by a faster north-northeast motion later

today and Wednesday.  On the forecast track, the center of Idalia is

forecast to move over the eastern Gulf of Mexico today, reach the

Gulf coast of Florida within the Hurricane Warning area on

Wednesday, and move close to the Carolina coastline on Thursday.

Data from a NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum

sustained winds have increased to near 80 mph (130 km/h) with higher

gusts.  Rapid intensification is likely through landfall, and Idalia

is forecast to become an extremely dangerous major hurricane before

landfall on Wednesday.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 15 miles (30 km) from

the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 160

miles (260 km).

The minimum central pressure based on dropsonde data is 977 mb

(28.85 inches).

Portions of the west coast of Florida, the Florida Panhandle,

southeast Georgia and the eastern Carolinas: 4 to 8 inches from

today into Thursday. Isolated higher totals of 12 inches possible,

primarily near landfall in northern Florida.

This rainfall may lead to flash and urban flooding, and landslides

across western Cuba.

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 today into

Wednesday, spreading into portions of the eastern Carolinas

Wednesday into Thursday.

SURF:  Swells generated by Idalia are affecting portions of the

southern coast of Cuba and eastern Yucatan.  These swells will

spread northward along the eastern United States Gulf Coast during

the next day or two. These swells are likely to cause life-

threatening surf and rip current conditions.  Please consult

products from your local weather office.

TORNADOES: A few tornadoes will be possible later day along the

west central Florida coast.  The tornado threat will spread

northward into the Florida Big Bend by tonight.