Demings said the most critical time is from midnight until noon on Wednesday, based on the winds.
Law enforcement and fire rescue crews have gone door-to-door to 6,000 mobile homes to suggest people living there should temporarily leave to go to a safer place during the storm.
Orange County Parks and Recreation facilities will be closed Tuesday at 8 p.m. and are expected to reopen on Thursday, depending on damage assessments.
LYNX buses will stop operations at 11 p.m. Tuesday. Officials have yet to announce when buses will resume.
Orange County Public Schools will close schools on Wednesday. Officials said students and faculty should plan on returning Thursday.
230828-N-YD641-003 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Aug. 28, 2023) Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Matthew Riggs grabs some essentials at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville Commissary, Aug. 28 prior to Tropical Storm Idalia arriving in the Jacksonville area. (U.S. Navy photo by Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Scotty Coombs/Released)
230828-N-YD641-001 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Aug. 28, 2023) Culinary Specialist (CS) 2nd Class Juan Rios shovels sand as CS2 Peter Angelade holds the sandbags open to fill at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Aug. 28. The station has 6,000 bags ready to be filled to help prevent water intrusion from Hurricane Idalia. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Matthew Riggs/Released)
230828-N-YD641-002 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Aug. 28, 2023) Culinary Specialist (CS) 2nd Class Juan Rios shovels sand as CS2 Peter Angelade holds the sandbags open to fill at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Aug. 28. The station has 6,000 bags ready to be filled to help prevent water intrusion from Hurricane Idalia. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Matthew Riggs/Released)
PINELLAS PARK, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: Antonio Floyd places sandbags in a pickup truck at the Helen S. Howarth Community Park ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Pinellas Park, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida on Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: William Brouard places sandbags at the door to his IRB Creamery before the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
PINELLAS PARK, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: Loemys Rivera-Valentin and her children D'Angelo Gabriel Abreu-Suarez (C) and Zaelys Loemys Robles-Rivera fill sandbags at the Helen S. Howarth Community Park ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Pinellas Park, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida on Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: (L-R) Steve Leitgeb and Michelle Fedeles place protective shutters over the openings at Coco's Crush Bar & Grill before the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
CLEARWATER BEACH, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: Workers place protective plywood over the openings at Toucan's Bar & Grill before the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
CLEARWATER BEACH, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: Workers place protective plywood over the openings at Toucan's Bar & Grill before the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
PINELLAS PARK, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: A grocery store's water section is almost bare as people stock up ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Pinellas Park, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 28: Brooke Painter loads personal items into a van as she and her family evacuate their vacation rental ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 28, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. Tropical Storm Idalia is nearing hurricane strength and is forecast to become a hurricane as it tracks toward the Gulf Coast of Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
CLEARWATER BEACH, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: Workers place protective plywood over the openings at Toucan's Bar & Grill before the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
PINELLAS PARK, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: Vinell Chambers (L) and Antonio Floyd fill sandbags at the Helen S. Howarth Community Park ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Pinellas Park, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida on Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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)
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)
The Orlovista community in Orange County is also bracing for whatever Idalia may bring.
Members of the Tampa, Fla., Parks and Recreation Dept., help residents with sandbags Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. Residents along Florida's gulf coast are making preparations for the effects of Tropical Storm Idalia. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Members of the Tampa Parks and Recreation Dept., help residents with sandbags Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. Residents along Florida's gulf coast are making preparations for the effects of Tropical Storm Idalia. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
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