Currently — August 28, 2023: Idalia is heading to Florida as a hurricane

The weather, currently.

Tropical Storm Idalia formed over the weekend, and is ramping up its intensity on a trajectory towards Florida.

Tampa Bay is currently in the cone of uncertainty for Idalia. Up to 11 feet of storm surge is expected from Idalia near the exact landfall location, with about 3-5 feet expected in the Tampa Bay region.

Since records began in 1850, only 5 hurricanes have ever directly struck the Tampa Bay region. Since the last one struck in 1946, the region’s population has grown 10-fold, from around 300,000 to more than 3 million today.

Due to the gentle sloping of the seafloor on the Florida Gulf coast, this area is especially prone to coastal flooding from hurricanes. In a worst-case scenario, a major hurricane making landfall just north of Tampa Bay could funnel as much as 26 feet of storm surge into the bay. Last year, a study found that the Tampa Bay metro area was even more vulnerable than New Orleans to storm surge flooding — second only to Miami and New York in the US.

—Eric Holthaus

What you can do, currently.

Currently is looking for weather newsletter writers! 🌤️ ⛈️ 🌈

Must be located in one of these cities:

-Chicago

-Philadelphia

-Austin, TX

-Queens, NYC

-New Jersey

-Long Island

Here are some specifics on what this role would entail:

- An original ~100 word daily descriptive post about what the next day will look and feel like in your city, written five days per week, Sunday - Thursday — due by 5pm ET.

- You'd be supported by our team of meteorologists for help during high-stress weather situations, like accurately describing a complex forecast before extreme weather hits.

- It's OK for you to do this using a pen name or pseudonym if you'd like to.

- $350/month pay + which will switch to a 50% revenue share of your city's paid subscriptions once the newsletter revenue reaches $700/month.

The ideal weather posts are short, but full of personality. Think of it as your daily public weather diary, letting a good friend know what to expect during her day tomorrow. The hope is that you'll feel inspired and safe enough to bring your full self to these short posts, and to your community. Here's an example of our daily NYC newsletter and our daily Portland newsletter.

To apply, send Eric an email and a short description of your favorite weather day! Thank you 🙂 [email protected]

Currently has begun to partner with other likeminded newsletters to help the growth of independent climate media — we receive financial support for each new subscriber we can recruit, so check them out!