Ports Brace for Hurricane Idalia

With Hurricane Idalia expected to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane before landfall somewhere along the northern Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday morning, ports in the region are preparing for the arrival of inclement weather.

Port Tampa Bay has closed all waterways, but the port’s landside operations remain open to ensure gas and other fuels can be moved out of the port as long as remains safe to do so. The U.S. Coast Guard has set port condition ZULU, indicating the possibility of gale force winds (34-47 knots) entering Tampa Bay in the next 12 hours. Updates from Port Tampa Bay can be found here.

“The port’s shipping channels may have closed, but our landslide operations continue as the storm approaches. Port staff is assisting our fuel terminal operators to move gas out of our port and to consumers who may need it as the storm approaches,” said Port Tampa Bay CEO Paul Anderson. “Port Tampa Bay provides nearly half of Florida’s fuel supply and we take our role in hurricane recovery seriously.”

The Florida Ports Council has shared this information graphic describing the different port conditions:

On the Florida Panhandle, Port Panama City is closed for shipping and landside operations. The Coast Guard has set port condition Zulu. Updates from Port Panama City can be found here.

On the Atlantic Coast of Florida, the Port of Jacksonville (JAXPORT) remains open and operational, but is planned to close Tuesday night. The U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port has set port condition YANKEE as noon today. Port condition ZULU is expected to 8 p.m. Tuesday night. JAXPORT anticipates reopening on Thursday, pending storm impacts and once federal reopening safety protocols are completed. Updates from JAXPORT can be found here.

Port Canaveral, one of the world’s busiest cruise ports, is in port condition YANKEE and remains open but with limited operations in preparation for the storm. Updates on Port Canaveral can be found here.

More from the Florida Ports Council:

To the north, the Georgia Ports Authority says it is operating under normal conditions in anticipation of tropical storm conditions. The Port of Savannah is currently open and operating normally, and the expectation is that it will open and working on Wednesday. However, vessel activity is expected to end Tuesday night. The Mayor’s Point Terminal at the Port of Brunswick will be closed Wednesday. The Coast Guard has set port condition YANKEE for both Savannah and Brunswick. Updates from the Georgia Ports Authority can be found here.

South Carolina ports, including the Port of Charleston, remained open as of Tuesday afternoon. The Coast Guard has set port condition X-RAY. Updates from the South Carolina Ports Authority can be found here.

The latest information from the NWS National Hurricane Center shows Hurricane Idalia with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph. On its forecast track, Idalia is expected to make landfall early Wednesday morning potentially as a Major Hurricane, bringing catastrophic 10-15 foot storm surge to the Big Bend region of Florida. Check hurricanes.gov for the latest forecasts.

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