Idalia strengthens over Gulf of Mexico and is now predicted to hit Florida as Category 4 hurricane

**Tropical Weather** Men work to reinforce a law firm's office on 2nd Street, where businesses and residents were preparing for potential flooding ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Idalia in Cedar Key, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

**Tropical Weather** Vistors stop and take a photo of the clouds on the south end of Tybee Island, Ga., ahead of Hurricane Idalia on Tuesday, Aug., 29, 2023. Idalia strengthened into a hurricane Tuesday and barreled toward Florida's Gulf Coast. (Stephen B. Morton /Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

**Tropical Weather** Tricia Bart Catalano lifts a sandbags into the back of her car, in preparation for Hurricane Idalia at Tybee Island, Ga., Tuesday, Aug., 29, 2023. Idalia strengthened into a hurricane Tuesday and barreled toward Florida's Gulf Coast. (Stephen B. Morton /Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

**Tropical Weather** Members of the Robinson family, from Gainesville, move personal belongings out of their second home, dubbed "The Crab Shack," in Suwannee, Fla., as Hurricane Idalia heads toward Florida's Gulf Coast, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. The family said the small wooden house was built in the 1940s and has survived multiple floods in its history. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

**Tropical Weather Florida** Kite surfers take advantage of gusty winds caused by the outer bands of Hurricane Idalia, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, in North Miami Beach, Fla. Idalia was churning in the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 1 storm, but it was projected to come ashore early Wednesday as a Category 3 system with sustained winds of up to 120 mph. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

**Tropical Weather** Victor Cassano hitches a boat trailer, packed with bikes and fishing gear, to his pickup as he prepares to leave his second home in Suwannee, Fla., ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Idalia, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. Cassano, a flooring contractor, has meticulously constructed and outfitted the small two-bedroom home which he hopes to move into full-time as soon as he can sell his house in Ormond Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

**Tropical Weather** St. Johns County residents fill sand bags Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, in Crescent Beach, Fla., as they prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Idalia. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

**Tropical Weather** 1-year-old Reagan Ortagus sits in her car seat as her father, Tyler Ortagus, fills sandbags at the Mills Field location in Saint Johns County, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, as residents prepared for approaching Hurricane Idalia. (Bob Self/The Florida Times-Union via AP)

**Tropical Weather** The arrivals board at the Tampa International Airport shows nothing but cancelled flights Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. The airport closed to all air travel early this morning. Residents along Florida's gulf coast are making preparations for the effects of Hurricane Idalia. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

**Tropical Weather Florida** The Delta Airlines ticket area is deserted Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, at the Tampa International Airport in Tampa, Fla. The airport closed to all air travel early this morning. Residents along Florida's gulf coast are making preparations for the effects of Hurricane Idalia. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

**Tropical Weather Florida** Airport workers walk past the "Phoebe the Flamingo" display at a deserted Tampa International Airport Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. The airport closed to all air travel early this morning. Residents along Florida's gulf coast are making preparations for the effects of Hurricane Idalia. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

**Tropical Weather** Kiosks at the Southwest Airlines ticket counter are covered in protective wrapping at the Tampa International Airport, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. The airport closed to all air travel early Tuesday as residents along Florida's gulf coast are making preparations for the effects of Hurricane Idalia. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

**Tropical Weather** United Airlines workers walk past covered kiosks at the Tampa International Airport Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. The airport closed to all travel early this morning. Residents along Florida's gulf coast are making preparations for the effects of Hurricane Idalia. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

**Tropical Weather** Surfers take advantage of waves rarely seen along the calm shores of Key West, Fla., on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. Idalia strengthened into a hurricane Tuesday and barreled toward Florida's Gulf Coast as authorities warned residents of vulnerable areas to pack up and leave to escape the twin threats of high winds and devastating flooding. (Rob O'Neal/The Key West Citizen via AP)

**Tropical Weather Florida** Beachgoers stay close to shore as choppy waves caused by gusty wind crash on Hollywood Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. Hurricane Idalia is churning in the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 1 storm. It is projected to come ashore early Wednesday near the Big Bend region in north Florida. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

**Tropical Weather** Motorists wait in line during sandbag distribution, ahead of Tropical Storm Idalia's arrival, at MacFarlane Park in Tampa, Fla., Monday, Aug. 28, 2023. (Ivy Ceballo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

**Tropical Weather** A man rolls an arcade game toward a moving truck as waterfront businesses empty out furniture and valuables ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Idalia in Cedar Key, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

**Tropical Weather** Tami Wilkes, nurse practitioner and owner of Cedar Key Health Care, gets help to take down a sign as she prepares her business ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Idalia, in Cedar Key, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. The hurricane is now forecast to become an extremely dangerous Category 3 storm, pushing a storm surge of up to 12 feet. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

**Tropical Weather** David Sipf installs hurricane shutters on a rental home ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Idalia, in Cedar Key, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. Sipf, who lives in a camper on the island, plans to drive his home inland for a few days before returning to do whatever is needed to recover. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

**Tropical Weather** This Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, 1:31 p.m. EDT satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Idalia, center, approaching Florida's Gulf Coast, and Hurricane Franklin, right, as it moves along the East coast of the United States, southwest of Bermuda. (NOAA via AP)

**Tropical Weather** Family friend Ethan Campbell helps move merchandise out of the waterfront Steamers Island Trading Post, ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Idalia, in Cedar Key, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. The hurricane is now forecast to become an extremely dangerous Category 3 storm, pushing a storm surge of up to 12 feet. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

**Tropical Weather** A business owner packs up merchandise to move out of a waterfront store, ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Idalia, in Cedar Key, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. The hurricane is now forecast to become an extremely dangerous Category 3 storm, pushing a storm surge of up to 12 feet. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

**Tropical Weather** A man walks along 2nd Street, where businesses and residents were preparing for potential flooding, ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Idalia in Cedar Key, Fla, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. The hurricane is now forecast to become an extremely dangerous Category 3 storm, pushing a storm surge of up to 12 feet. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

**APTOPIX Tropical Weather** Adam Henderson, owner of Harbour Master Suites, prepares his business ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Idalia, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, in Cedar Key, Fla. The hurricane is now forecast to become an extremely dangerous Category 3 storm, pushing a storm surge of up to 12 feet. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

**Tropical Weather** Adam Henderson, owner of Harbour Master Suites, prepares his business ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Idalia, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, in Cedar Key, Fla. The hurricane is now forecast to become an extremely dangerous Category 3 storm, pushing a storm surge of up to 12 feet. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

**APTOPIX Cuba Tropical Weather** Commuters cycle through a street flooded by rain brought by Hurricane Idalia in Havana, Cuba, early Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

**Cuba Tropical Weather** A resident carries eggs through a street flooded by rain brought by Hurricane Idalia in Havana, Cuba, early Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

**Cuba Tropical Weather** An avocado vender works in a street flooded by rain brought by Hurricane Idalia in Havana, Cuba, early Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

**Tropical Weather** Garry Sears, 78, collects fallen pecans from his pecan tree on Monday, Aug 28, 2023, near his collectible 1953 Ford sedan which he has elevated to keep out of storm surge. Sears, who said he had four inches of water in his Florida room during Tropical Storm Eta, in November 2020, is anticipating as much surge from Tropical Storm Idalia which intensified early Monday and is expected to become a major hurricane before it reaches Florida's Gulf coast. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

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CEDAR KEY, Fla. (AP) — Florida residents living in vulnerable coastal areas were ordered to pack up and leave Tuesday as Hurricane Idalia gained steam in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and threatened to unleash life-threatening storm surges and rainfall.

Idalia also pummeled Cuba with heavy rains on Monday and Tuesday, leaving the tobacco-growing province of Pinar del Rio underwater and many of its residents without power.

Idalia had strengthened to a Category 2 system on Tuesday afternoon, with winds strengthening to 110 mph (177 kph) by Tuesday evening. The hurricane was projected to come ashore early Wednesday as a Category 4 system with sustained winds of at least 130 mph (209 kph) in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula. The result could be a big blow to a state still dealing with lingering damage from last year’s Hurricane Ian.

The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Idalia “an unprecedented event” since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay abutting the Big Bend.

On the island of Cedar Key, Commissioner Sue Colson joined other city officials in packing up documents and electronics at City Hall. She had a message for the almost 900 residents who were under mandatory orders to evacuate. More than a dozen state troopers went door to door warning residents that storm surge could rise as high as 15 feet (4.5 meters).

“One word: Leave,” Colson said. “It’s not something to discuss.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis repeated the warning at an afternoon news conference.

“You really gotta go now. Now is the time,” he said. Earlier, the governor stressed that residents didn’t necessarily need to leave the state, but should “get to higher ground in a safe structure.”

“You can ride the storm out there, then go back to your home,” he said.

Not everyone was heeding the warning. Andy Bair, owner of the Island Hotel, said he intended to “babysit” his bed-and-breakfast, which predates the Civil War. The building has not flooded in the almost 20 years he has owned it, not even when Hurricane Hermine flooded the city in 2016.

“Being a caretaker of the oldest building in Cedar Key, I just feel kind of like I need to be here,” Bair said. “We’ve proven time and again that we’re not going to wash away. We may be a little uncomfortable for a couple of days, but we’ll be OK eventually.”

Tolls were waived on highways out of the danger area, shelters were open and hotels prepared to take in evacuees. More than 30,000 utility workers were gathering to make repairs as quickly as possible in the hurricane’s wake. About 5,500 National Guard troops were activated.

In Tarpon Springs, a coastal community northwest of Tampa, 60 patients were evacuated from a hospital out of concern that the system could bring a 7-foot (2.1-meter) storm surge.

Idalia’s initial squalls were being felt in the Florida Keys and the southwestern coast of Florida on Tuesday afternoon, including at Clearwater Beach. Workers at beachside bars and T-shirt shops boarded up windows, children skim-surfed the waves and hundreds of people watched the increasingly choppy waters from the safety of the sand.

After landing in the Big Bend region, Idalia is forecast to cross the Florida peninsula and then drench southern Georgia and the Carolinas on Thursday. Both Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced states of emergency, freeing up state resources and personnel, including hundreds of National Guard troops.

“We’ll be prepared to the best of our abilities,” said Russell Guess, who was topping off the gas tank on his truck in Valdosta, Georgia. His co-workers at Cunningham Tree Service were doing the same. “There will be trees on people’s house, trees across power lines.”

At 11 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Idalia was about 125 miles (201 kilometers) west of Tampa, the National Hurricane Center said. It was moving north at 18 mph (29 kph).

In Cuba, meanwhile, Idalia left more than 60% of Pinar del Rio’s residents in the dark, state media reported.

“The priority is to reestablish power and communications and keep an eye on the agriculture: Harvest whatever can be harvested and prepare for more rainfall,” President Miguel Díaz-Canel said in a meeting with government officials Tuesday.

More than 10,000 people had been evacuated to shelters or stayed with friends and relatives as up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain fell. More than half of the province was without electricity.

State media did not report any deaths or major damage.

Idalia will be the first storm to hit Florida this hurricane season, but it’s only the latest in a summer of natural disasters, including wildfires in Hawaii, Canada and Greece.

With a large stretch of Florida’s western coast at risk for storm surges and floods, evacuation notices were issued in 22 counties, with mandatory orders for some people in eight of those counties. Many of the notices were for low-lying and coastal areas and for people living in mobile and manufactured homes, recreational vehicles or boats, and for people who would be vulnerable in a power outage.

Many school districts along the Gulf Coast were to be closed through at least Wednesday. Several colleges and universities also closed, including the University of Florida in Gainesville. Florida State University in Tallahassee said its campus would be closed through Friday.

Two of the region’s largest airports stopped commercial operations, and MacDill Air Force Base on Tampa Bay sent several aircraft to safer locations. The Busch Gardens Tampa Bay theme park also planned to close. On Florida’s Space Coast, on the other side of the peninsula from where Idalia is expected to make landfall, United Launch Alliance said Tuesday that it was delaying the launch of a rocket carrying satellites for U.S. defense and intelligence agencies.

Asked about the hurricane as he sat down for a meeting with Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves in the Oval Office on Tuesday, President Joe Biden said he had spoken to DeSantis and “provided him with everything that he possibly needs.”

Ian was responsible last year for almost 150 deaths. Category 5 hurricane damaged 52,000 structures, nearly 20,000 of which were destroyed or severely damaged.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently said the 2023 hurricane season would be far busier than initially forecast, partly because of extremely warm ocean temperatures. The season runs through Nov. 30, with August and September typically the peak.

Floridians viewed Idalia’s name with some concern since 13 Atlantic storm names beginning with “I” have been retired since 1955, according to the National Weather Service. That happens when a storm’s death toll or destruction is so severe that using its name again would be insensitive.

Another concern was the presence of a rare blue supermoon, which can cause higher-than-normal tides.

Cedar Key was expected to be at low tide shortly after sunrise on Wednesday, with Idalia forecast to make landfall a few hours later. That’s a bit of a relief since the water level would be higher if the storm surge arrived during a high tide, said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy.

“That definitely plays a role in coastal flooding,” McNoldy said.

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This story has been updated to remove erroneous reference to Hilary being the first tropical storm to his Southern California in 84 years.

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The information about Cuba has been corrected to note that the island was hit by rain on Monday and Tuesday, not Sunday and Monday.

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Associated Press writers Mike Schneider in St. Louis, Missouri; Marcia Dunn in Cape Canaveral, Florida; Curt Anderson in Orlando, Florida; Chris O’Meara in Clearwater, Florida; Cristiana Mesquita in Havana; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; Seth Borenstein in Washington; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Tara Copp in Washington; and Julie Walker in New York contributed to this report.