Idalia to hit Florida as ‘extremely dangerous’ category 4 hurricane, forecasters say

Mandatory evacuation orders issued in at least 28 of state's 67 counties as storm set to make landfall early on Wednesday

• Follow live updates on Hurricane Idalia here

Florida's Gulf Coast braced for fierce winds, torrential rain and surging seawater from Idalia, forecast to become an extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane, as it swirled toward a direct hit on the state's Big Bend region.

Idalia was generating maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (177 kph) by late Tuesday night - at the upper end of Category 2 - and its force would ratchet higher before it came ashore early on Wednesday, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) projected.