Numerous attractions, state parks and more are closing for parts of this week as Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall this morning over the Big Bend region of Florida, passes across the state.
Of note, Adventure Island and Busch Gardens in Tampa are closed, with plans to reopen either Thursday or Friday. Aquatica, SeaWorld's waterpark in Orlando is closed. Numerous museums, aquariums, botanical gardens and other tour experiences are closed. Notably, Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex are all open.
For a full list of attractions, visit www.floridaattractions.org.
Additionally, nearly 130 state parks are closed due to Idalia. For the full list, see www.floridastateparks.org.
On the cruise front, Disney Cruise Line has rescheduled the grand reveal event for Disney Treasure to September 5. Carnival Cruise Line’s Paradise and Elation are scheduled to depart from Tampa and Jacksonville, respectively, on August 31; Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas is also scheduled to disembark from Tampa on Thursday. No announcements have yet been made regarding alterations to their sailings.
Idalia has also forced Tampa International Airport to close. As of Wednesday morning, a reopening time has not been scheduled. Crews are currently assessing storm damage and are hoping to make an announcement later today.
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Idalia caused “catastrophic” storm surges of 12 to 16 feet above ground level. Storm surge is likely across nearly the entire Gulf Coast from Mexico Beach in the north to East Cape Sable in the south. On the eastern coast of the United States, storm surge is likely from northeast Florida (Flagler/Volusia county line) up to North Carolina (Duck).
The NHC also reports that people living inland across portions of northern Florida and southern Georgia should expect long-duration power outages.
Currently, maximum sustained winds are near 110 mph but reached 140 earlier this morning when the storm peaked as a Category 4. According to the Orlando Sentinel, there are tornado watches in 26 Florida Counties. A state of emergency is in place for 49 counties.
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