Tampa airport closing Tuesday ahead of potential hurricane 

Tampa International Airport (TPA) announced it will close Tuesday ahead of Tropical Storm Idalia, which is forecasted to strengthen into a Category 3 hurricane by Wednesday as it threatens Florida with dangerous rains, winds and storm surge. 

TPA said it will suspend all commercial operations beginning at 12:01 a.m. EDT Tuesday and will remain closed until the airport can assess the damages later in the week. The airport said it anticipates reopening Thursday morning and will provide updates on its account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Some cargo and private aircraft operations may continue overnight Tuesday, but all air traffic will cease by 7 a.m. Tuesday, TPA said. 

In a post on X, the airport urged travelers to check with airlines for flight updates and emphasized TPA is not being used as a shelter.

Several portions along Florida’s Gulf Coast, including Tampa Bay and the Big Bend region, are under storm surge, hurricane or tropical storm warnings, as they prepare for likely flash flooding and destructive winds Tuesday into Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said.

As of 2 p.m. Monday, the National Hurricane Center said Idalia was moving north and is expected to pass near or over western Cuba by Monday night and then over the extreme southeastern Gulf of Mexico by early Tuesday.

Idalia is predicted to reach the Gulf Coast of Florida by Wednesday.

On a call with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) Monday, President Biden said he approved an emergency declaration for Florida ahead of the storm, freeing up additional federal resources for the state’s response. 

“Tropical Storm #Idalia is forecast to strengthen into a major hurricane before a mid-week landfall,” DeSantis wrote in a post on X. “Floridians should prepare now for heavy rain, flooding and power outages.”  

“If an evacuation order is issued for your area, remember you do not need to leave the state. Travel tens of miles, not hundreds of miles to get to a safer location” DeSantis added. 

DeSantis said the state is activating 5,500 members of the Florida National Guard, staging 200,000 gallons of fuel, and preparing seven urban search-and-rescue teams. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said it also has activated its Response Coordination Center and deployed two incident management assistance teams to Florida. FEMA said it is also working with Georgia and South Carolina, where flooding is also expected. 

The Florida Division of Emergency Management said Monday the “State Emergency Operations Center is activated to a Level 1” to respond to the storm.