RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Tropical Storm Idalia is on the verge of turning into a hurricane.
As of 10 p.m. on Monday evening, the storm has 70 mph winds and is around 10 miles northwest of the western tip of Cuba.
The storm is on course to make landfall by Wednesday as a strong Category 2 or Category 3 hurricane.
A number of Hurricane Warnings and Storm Surge Watches are in effect for areas on both the east and west coasts of Florida. The east coast of Georgia also has a tropical storm warning in effect.
The west coast of Florida will potentially see a storm surge of 9 to 12 feet. The most heavily affected area will be just south of the track of the storm.
The heaviest rainfall, on the other hand, will be on the north side of the track of the storm.
When the storm moves inland, it will pass through Southern Georgia and then exit back out into the Atlantic on Thursday morning near Hilton Head. By Thursday evening, it will be off to the southeast of Cape Hatteras and will be headed out of the way.
DAILY FORECAST — StormTracker8: Showers & storms today; tracking Idalia
At this time, Central Virginia is not expected to be directly affected by the storm.
This is a developing story, check back with 8News for updates.
