Havana, August 29 (RHC) -- With Tropical Cyclone Warning No.16 at 6:00 p.m. this Tuesday, the Cuban Institute of Meteorology (Insmet) reports that in recent hours Hurricane Idalia has continued to gain in intensity as it enters the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, moving further away from Cuban territory.

The most recent report refers that the hydrometeorological organism has maximum sustained winds that increased to 155 kilometers per hour, with higher gusts, so it is now a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale out of a maximum of five.

It has a minimum pressure of 972 hectoPascal and maintains a northerly course with a translation speed that has increased to 26 kilometers per hour.

At 6:00 pm its center was estimated at 26.3 degrees north latitude and 84.8 degrees west longitude, a position that places it 300 kilometers southwest of Tampa, on the west coast of the Florida peninsula.

Over the next 12 to 24 hours, Idalia will continue on a similar track, increasing its translational speed somewhat and tilting its path to the north-northeast, gaining more intensity, to become an intense hurricane tomorrow, Wednesday, before making landfall over northwest Florida.

Insmet's Tropical Cyclone Warning No.16 adds that although Idalia continues to move away from Cuba, the probability of rains in the western region will remain high, which could be heavy and intense, in some localities of the provinces from Pinar del Rio to Matanzas, including the Isle of Youth.

Southerly winds will continue to blow in the west with speeds between 20 and 35 kilometers per hour with occasional gusts, which may be higher in areas of showers and thunderstorms.

Storm surges will continue on both western coastlines and south of the Isle of Youth with light coastal flooding on the southern west coast, which will begin to subside in the evening.

The next Tropical Cyclone Warning for this system will be issued at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow, Wednesday.