Hurricane Idalia developed into a Category 3 storm overnight and made landfall in Florida‘s Big Bend region on Wednesday at 7:45 a.m.
As of 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Idalia had recorded winds up to 130 miles per hour, and flooding had already begun.
7:45 AM EDT update: Extremely dangerous Category 3 Hurricane #Idalia makes landfall in the Florida Big Bend. Maximum sustained winds were estimated to be 125 mph. Catastrophic storm surge and damaging winds ongoing. pic.twitter.com/umMdj8dD5d
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 30, 2023
IDALIA PATH TRACKER WATCH LIVE: WHERE IS THE HURRICANE AND WHERE WILL IT MAKE LANDFALL
The “Big Bend” region refers to where the peninsula merges into the Panhandle, just southeast of the capital, Tallahassee, and well north of the Tampa metro area. Idalia is the first major storm to hit the region since Hurricane Easy in 1950.
The National Hurricane Center said the eye of Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach, with maximum sustained winds of 125 miles per hour. Water levels along the coast are rising “rapidly,” the NHC said. A NOAA National Ocean Service tide gauge at Cedar Key, Florida, reported