South Florida to see heavy rainfall from Idalia, and wind gusts of up to 45 mph

South Florida will get some gusty winds and heavy rainfall this week, affected by Idalia, which could strengthen and make landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 3 hurricane by Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service Miami.

Robert Garcia, a senior meteorologist with the weather service, said Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties will see “pretty squally conditions as early as (Monday night), as outer bands are getting closer and move toward the area.”

He said wind gusts could be in excess of 35 mph to 45 mph, “nothing sustained but gusts certainly possible.”

Expect rain, too.

“For us here in southeast Florida, there’s certainly potential for localized flooding,” Garcia said. “Folks definitely want to be aware of (that), especially if they have to commute.”

The conditions will continue at least through Wednesday, “and we’ll have to keep an eye on Thursday to make sure nothing is trailing behind as it moves to north Florida and Georgia. These things aren’t always textbook clean.”

Tornado threats should be expected more to the west and north “but you can’t rule that out with bands that are far away from the storm.”

Low-lying areas, like boat ramps and parking lots, might be prone to flooding around high tide because of the full moon. “If that water is there, it might not allow drainage, that could exacerbate localized flooding.”

But there’s some good news: “Right now the chances of us having tropical force winds sustained is still fairly low so that’s a positive,” Garcia said. “Obviously we’ll continue to watch as it departs Cuba and starts heading into the Gulf of Mexico.”

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Twitter @LisaHuriash