As Tropical Storm Idalia shifts west, Bay County now more at risk

PANAMA CITY — Updated projections for Tropical Storm Idalia show Bay County now is more at risk of damaging winds and rain.

According to Jasmine Montgomery, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, the group's 5 p.m. update on Monday showed Idalia's projected path has slightly shifted west. It still is anticipated to intensify into a Category 3 storm by landfall, which is slated to occur late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning.

"It's still expected to make landfall in the southeast Big Bend, but because the current track did shift a little bit west, we are advising the public to acknowledge it could shift further west," said Montgomery, who added Bay County now might experience tropical storm force winds.

Eric Kunznan, emergency manager for Bay County, said Idalia is projected to move into the Gulf of Mexico Monday night and "continue to increase in strength." As of Monday morning, the storm was about 90 miles southwest of Cuba, moving north at about two miles per hour.

"If it stays on its current path, Bay County will have minimal impacts," Kunznan said. "We're looking at 10 to 15 mile per hour winds and some localized flooding from rain bands that we'll get, (but) nothing too drastic. Nothing really more than a normal summer rainstorm.

"But if it moves more west, we're going to see more significant impacts."

Since Idalia might create localized flooding across Bay County, local municipalities are providing either sand, sandbags or both to help residents prepare.

Panama City Beach will offer sandbags and sand for bagging at Frank Brown Park. Panama City will offer sandbags and sand for bagging at 1230 Redwood Ave. Bay County will offer just sand for bagging at Deer Point Dam and Pete Edwards Field. Lynn Haven will offer sandbags at Cain Griffin Park and Kinsaul Park, as well as sand for bagging at the Lynn Haven Sports Complex.

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While the storm is not forecast to directly hit Bay County, Kunznan said residents still should take necessary precautions because "hurricanes are always unpredictable."

"The National Weather Service does its best to predict and kind of gauge based on the patterns and fronts where a hurricane is going to go, but no hurricane is the same," he said. "Just because you made it through Hurricane Michael doesn't mean the next hurricane is going to do the exact same thing. Even if it goes through the same path, it's always going to be different.

"It's always important to be prepared for any storm that comes through."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Tropical Storm Idalia shifts west; Bay County now more at risk