By Rodney Harris, Ella Dorsey, Cutter Martin, Courteney Jacobazzi, Jennifer Valdez, Patrick Pete and Fred Campagna
Hurricane Idalia is now a major Category 4 storm as of 5 a.m. Wednesday. The storm is currently packing 130 mph winds as it bears down on the Big Bend of Florida.
By The Associated Press and DANIEL KOZIN Associated Press
Florida residents are evacuating from homes in low-lying areas along the Gulf Coast as forecasters predict that Idalia will hit the state as a major hurricane.
On Monday, Idalia was near the coast of Cuba and on a potential track to come ashore as a hurricane in the southern U.S. in the coming days, the National Hurricane Center said.