Live updates: Hurricane Idalia impact on Alachua County

With Idalia officially being named a hurricane by the National Hurricane Center on Tuesday, state and local officials urged Alachua County residents to take necessary precautions.

This live blog will be updated periodically with the latest information to help keep Alachua County residents informed and prepared for the hurricane.

Idalia made landfall early Wednesday morning as a Category 3 hurricane with winds at 125 mph, though it's path was more north than originally anticipated.

The highest gusts of winds in Alachua County were less than expected around 55 mph, but still high enough to cause damage. Alachua County officials say they anticipated gusts could reach up to 74 mph as the storm made its way over the state.

Here's the latest:

4:00 p.m. - Alachua County closes shelters

Alachua County has rescinded its evacuation order and closed its open shelters. County offices are expected to resume normal business hours Thursday.

Trash collection will also resume normal schedules.

3:45 p.m. - Schools announce reopening

∎ Alachua County Public Schools announced that all schools and the district office will be open Thursday. All operations, including transportation, are expected to operate as normal.

∎ The University of Florida will reopen and resume normal operations for academic and student-related activities, including online classes on Thursday. UF faculty are asked to remain flexible with students affected by Hurricane Idalia in the meantime.

∎  P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School and Baby Gator Child Development and Research Center will reopen and resume normal schedules on Thursday.

∎ Santa Fe College will also be open again.

12:40 p.m. - County asks people to stay off roadways

While the threat of heavy winds and rain from Hurricane Idalia may have passed, Alachua County officials are still recommending that people stay inside.

“We would recommend as much as possible to stay in today because even if the weather seems safe to go out in, there’s still a lot of activity among public works people, law enforcement and fire rescue,” said county spokesperson Mark Sexton. “There’s still a lot of debris around that can be dangerous. If you’ve already made arrangements to shelter or be at home, we suggest you take the day and stay in, let folks have clear access to the roads, do the work needed so that we’re completely back in business tomorrow.”

Sexton also said that as of 12:15 p.m., the county had almost 10,300 people without power, the majority of which — 9,100 — were Clay Electric customers on the west side of the county.

12:15 - Mayor Harvey Ward: 'We've seen the worst of it'

As GRU fixes outages and things settle around Gainesville, Mayor Harvey Ward said the city has seen the worst of the storm already.

"It definitely seems like we've seen the worst of it," he said. "We're going have a few gusts, we're going to have rain. We can always expect after a few hours of storm that there will be some more falling limbs and likely some more falling trees over the next few days because that's just what happens when a storm comes through and shakes a few things loose. But generally speaking, we did not bear the brunt of the storm. We stand ready to send mutual-aid support to the parts of the state that did have it a lot worse than us."

Ward said the city has been able to relieve some emergency responders from their duties.

"We've gone to blue-sky operations at GRU, which just essentially means that we're about to release some of the folks who've been on emergency duty," he said. "We've released just about a minute ago some of the folks at the emergency operation center for general government to go back to their regular duties, because most of the worst of the storm seems to be past us."

11:45 a.m. - GRU outages fixed

GRU is reporting that it has restored power to most of its affected customers, dwindling the total from nearly 8,000 outages to 500.

11:35 a.m. - Tropical storm watch

Alachua County officials announced around 11:35 a.m. that the county was no longer under a hurricane warning, as most winds had settled from Hurricane Idalia. The county, however, is still under a tropical storm warning until further notice.

11:00 a.m. - Jim Cantore in Cedar Key

The Weather Channel's beloved weather reporter, Jim Cantore, is hunkered down at a UF Institute of Food and Agriculture building in Cedar Key, Florida to keep us up-to-date on severe weather conditions.

His most recent X post shows the UF IFAS building flooded up to the stairwell. There is major flooding due to an extreme storm surge, reported by Cantore as 6 feet and growing, in the beach town.

10:15 a.m. - Downed trees

There are several downed trees around the county, some of which have blocked roads and taken out power lines.

A resident reported a tree that fell on the power lines along Southwest 159th Terrace in Archer and caused a power outage.

House of Yin, off Northwest Sixth Street in Gainesville, also had a tree blocking a driveway. UF also reported two trees on campus fell, but no outages.

10:00 a.m. - GRU outages

GRU officials are restoring power to those affected. They estimate about 2,500 people in its coverage area are without power.

9:20 a.m. - Gainesville Fire Rescue team ready to help

Gainesville Fire Rescue is preparing its Urban Search and Rescue task force for possible deployment to Marion County. They are mustering at Station 1, 525 S. Main St., Gainesville.

9:10 a.m. - Continued, widespread power outages

GRU reported around 7,852 customers without power as tropical-storm-force winds hit the area. The community should report outages and downed power lines to 352-334-2871.

8:30 a.m. - GRU reports outages

GRU reported 3,097 customers without power as the hurricane made landfall in Florida. Officials say they are working quickly to restore power and anyone without power should report it by calling 352-334-2871.

6:00 a.m. - Fatal crash

Florida Highway Patrol reported that a 59-year-old Gainesville man was killed Wednesday morning in a single-vehicle crash along State Road 20, just east of Southeast 60th Terrace.

Around 6 a.m., the man was driving a Toyota Tacoma in "extremely rainy conditions" when his vehicle veered off the roadway and into a ditch where he crashed into a nearby tree. The man was declared dead at the scene by Alachua County Fire Rescue.

11:15 p.m. - Storm expected to strengthen

Hurricane Idalia could strengthen to a Category 4 storm when it makes landfall in Florida, according to the NHC's 11 p.m. update. Hurricane Idalia has maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour and higher.

9:50 p.m. - Tornado Watch

Gainesville is under a tornado watch until 6 a.m. Wednesday, officials announced. This means weather conditions could lead to the formation of tornadoes, isolated hail up to a half inch in size and isolated gusts of wind up to 75 miles per hour.

City officials advise citizens to have a safe location and be ready to act quickly if a tornado warning is issued.

9:30 p.m. - Free Uber rides

Uber is offering free round-trip rides up to $35 each way to state-approved storm shelters for some Florida counties including Alachua, Marion, Union and Sumter counties, according to a press release.

Users should use the promotional code IDALIARELIEF in the Uber app.

5 p.m. - Storm data collection

The University of Florida deployed one of its hurricane monitoring towers in Newberry Tuesday. The tower will gather high-fidelity time histories of the wind velocity approximately every 15 minutes. Data at 5 and 10-meter elevations provide information for engineers working to mitigate damage from extreme winds.

The towers can function in up to 200 miles per hour wind gusts and the Florida Coastal Monitoring Program at UF has used them since 1998 to collect data during tropical storms and hurricanes.

4:30 p.m. - GRU outages

GRU officials say they expect outages throughout Alachua County, though it's unclear to guess how significant based on Hurricane Idalia's route moving slightly north late Tuesday. Officials say they have crews ready to hit the streets Wednesday morning.

"We are fully staffed, plus have 40 additional lineworkers from Alabama and 27 Asplundh tree trees from North Carolina here to assist in restoration efforts," GRU spokesman David Warm said.

2:45 p.m. - Potential for strong winds

A large portion of Alachua County has the potential for winds between 74 and 110 miles per hour and above. The county reports a 96% chance for tropical storm-force winds and a 47% chance for hurricane-force winds.

1:50 p.m. - Waste collection

Waste collection will be normal on Tuesday for Gainesville. After collections, the city asks residents to remove all waste and recycling containers from curbs. Waste and recycling collection will be suspended on Wednesday and will resume on Thursday. Thursday's service should occur on Friday.

1:30 p.m. - Parking

City-owned parking garages and lots in Gainesville will be free for the duration of the storm until 6 p.m. Thursday.

12:58 p.m. - Mayor Ward says 'Don't let guard down'

As Hurricane Idalia’s track continues to shift westward, the city of Gainesville is warning residents to remain vigilant.

“Just because we’ve got a little bit of westward wobble now, it could wobble back in our direction. Our people are assuming — because we have to — that it’s going to come directly at us," Mayor Harvey Ward said. “I want people to be on their guard and not make plans for what they’re going to do this evening and tomorrow. We need to be bunkering in at home and preparing for this as if it’s going to be the worst storm of our lives.”

11:50 a.m. - Stores closing early

∎ All area Publix stores will close at 7 p.m. Tuesday and are tentatively scheduled to reopen at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

∎ Walmart stores in Gainesville, at 2900 SW 42nd St., 5700 NW 23rd St. and 1800 NE 12th Ave., will be closing Tuesday at 5 p.m. and will reopen Thursday at 8 a.m.

∎ Target, at 3970 SW Archer Rd. in Gainesville, will close at 10 p.m. Tuesday and will reopen at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

∎ Whole Foods, at 3490 SW Archer Rd. in Gainesville, will be closing on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

∎ Sam's Club, at 4001 SW 40th Blvd. in Gainesville, will be closing at 8 p.m. and will be closed Wednesday.

11:20 a.m. - Projected path update

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released an update on Hurricane Idalia. The Category 1 hurricane is expected to be a Category 3 by landfall on Florida's west coast.

11 a.m. - Reporting outages

Gainesville Regional Utilities warns people to avoid downed power lines completely.

Residents can report power outages and downed wires at 352-334-2871, natural gas emergencies at 352-334-2550 and water and wastewater emergencies at 352-334-2711.

10:30 a.m. - Evacuations

Alachua County, all of which is under a hurricane warning, has issued an evacuation order for those who live in mobile and manufactured homes or those in flood-prone areas.

Officials also say if a person's home has flooded during a previous storm, then those residents need to evacuate.

10:20 a.m. - Alachua County shelters now open

Alachua County has opened two general population pet-friendly shelters and a special medical needs shelter.

∎ General population: Martin Luther King Jr. Multipurpose Center, 1028 NE 14th St., Gainesville

∎ General population: Easton-Newberry Sports Complex, 24880 NW 16th Ave., Newberry

∎ Special needs: Alachua County Senior Recreation Center, 5701 NW 34th Blvd., Gainesville

In addition to the three shelters in Alachua County, Putnam County will have a pet-friendly shelter opening at 5 p.m. County officials say this is the closest shelter for Hawthorne residents.

∎ General Population: Ochwilla Elementary School, 299 State Road 21, Hawthorne

For more information about the special needs shelter, call 352-955-2575. Those in need of transportation to the shelter should call as soon as possible. The shelter will provide one cot per patient. Caregivers are asked to bring their own bedding in case cots are not available.

The general population shelters to not provide cots or beds. These shelters are pet-friendly.

Grace Marketplace and St. Francis House are providing storm shelter for unhoused individuals beginning 7 p.m. Tuesday.

9:30 a.m. - RTS bus services

RTS will reduce service and suspend fares at 1 p.m. Tuesday. City officials urge residents who need transportation to shelters or stores to take advantage of the bus schedule. RTS will offer no service on Wednesday.

9:10 a.m. - Sandbag locations

∎ Gainesville Public Works, at 405 NW 38th Ave., will be open until 3 p.m. Tuesday.

∎ Citizens Field, at 1000 NE Waldo Road, will be a self-serve location and open until 3 p.m. Tuesday. There is a limit of 10 bags per car.

∎ Wayside Park, at 11855 NW U.S. Highway 441, will be open until 12 p.m. Tuesday. There will be a limit of 10 bags per car. After closing it will be self-serve.

∎ High Springs Memorial Park, at 17380 NW U.S. Highway 441, will be open until 7 p.m. Tuesday.

∎ Newberry Public Works compound, at 120 NW 260th Street, a self-serve location that opened Monday.

8:45 a.m. - Expected rainfall

As of Tuesday morning, county residents are expected to see about 4 to 6 inches of rain. The earliest expected onset of tropical storm winds is 2 a.m. Wednesday and most likely 5 a.m.

Western Alachua County is under a hurricane warning, while east of the Interstate 75 corridor is under a tropical storm warning.

7 a.m. - School closures

Alachua County Public Schools announced Monday afternoon that all schools would remain closed until the storm has passed. A decision on whether to reopen is expected to come Wednesday afternoon.

The University of Florida will also close its campus at noon Tuesday. Santa Fe College will stay closed through Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Live blog: Alachua County prepares for Hurricane Idalia