Tropical Storm Idalia is now forecasted to become a Category 3 hurricane as it moves toward the southeastern U.S. this week.

WSB Radio Meteorologist Christina Edwards says Idalia is strengthening in the far northwest Caribbean and will enter the Gulf later Monday, where the National Weather Service predicts it will become a hurricane.

“By Wednesday afternoon, Idalia will move over coastal Georgia and South Carolina, potentially impacting Savannah and Hilton Head Island with damaging winds, heavy rain and coastal flooding,” Edwards says.

>> Read the latest content from WSB’s Christina Edwards here

Idalia is expected to make its landfall in Florida early Wednesday morning.

>> Download the WSB Radio App to stay up to date on the weather in your area here

Here’s what you need to know for Monday:

• Hurricane warning and tropical storm warning issued across Florida Gulf coast
• Hurricane watch issued for Lowndes, Lanier, Echols and Clinch County inland far south Georgia
• Tropical storm watch issued for Camden and Glynn counties on Georgia coast
• Track has shifted a little farther south, making impacts more unlikely in north Georgia.
• Unrelated to Idalia, a front will touch off waves of showers and storms the next couple of days and cooler temps in north Georgia.

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