Photos: Preps In Florida As Idalia Approaches

P​hotos show business owners in Cedar Key, Florida, boarding up windows and removing merchandise from sales floors in preparation for Hurricane Idalia's arrival.

R​esidents along the Gulf Coast are getting ready for the storm, which could make a Category 3 landfall Wednesday. Idalia is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds and flooding rains beginning Tuesday.

(​MORE: Hurricane And Surge Warnings Issued For Florida's Gulf Coast Ahead Of Strengthening Idalia)

M​embers of the Tampa Parks and Recreation Department were helping residents with sandbags on Monday in preparation for Idalia's arrival later in the week.

A​n empty Tampa International Airport can also be seen in the slideshow above, as the airport closed early Tuesday in anticipation of the storm, and is expected to remain closed until after any damage assessments can be made later in the week.

A​ state of emergency has been issued for 49 Florida counties ahead of the storm and evacuation orders have been issued throughout the state, especially in coastal zones. Hurricane warnings and watches as well as tropical storm watches, storm surge warnings and storm surge watches have been issued along Florida's Gulf Coast and parts of the Atlantic coast into southern Georgia.

C​lick through the slideshow above and check back for updates on this developing story.

M​ORE FROM WEATHER.COM: Images Of Idalia's Impacts So Far

Senior editor Nicole Bonaccorso works as weather.com's photo editor and writes about breaking news, travel, climate and more.

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