Hurricane Idaliamade landfall in Florida on Wednesday morning.
The powerful storm came ashore near Keaton Beach as a Category 3 storm after having intensified in the Gulf of Mexico this week. It was expected to be a Category 4 storm, but was downgraded less than an hour before hitting land.That doesn’t mean Idalia isn’t dangerous. As the storm made its way to shore on Wednesday morning, it was moving at 18 mph as a hurricane, with wind speeds upwards of 125 mph and a storm surge upwards of 16 ft. It’s the strongest storm that has made landfall in the Big Bend region in more than 125 years, according toCNN.
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TheFederal Emergency Management Agencyis ready and waiting to react to the impacts, FEMA officials saying in a release they’re “ready to move to the most impacted areas immediately after the storm passes” with “warehouses filled with commodities like food, water, blankets, and medical supplies that ready to rapidly move into the impacted area at the state’s request.”
The storm strengthened on Tuesday into a Category 2 hurricane with 100 mph winds on Tuesday, according toCNN.
Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty
As of Tuesday, evacuation orders had been issued in 22 counties as of Tuesday, according toFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis' office, A state of emergency was also declared in 49 counties.
Idalia was “predicted to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane,” the governor’s office said at the time, adding that “life-threatening storm surge and dangerous winds are becoming increasingly likely for portions of Florida’s Gulf Coast.”
“Everybody on the Gulf Coast from Tampa Bay to northwest Florida must be vigilant,” DeSantis said at a Tuesday news briefing, perUSA Today. “You’re going to see some nasty weather.”
Flooding from Tropical Storm Idalia in Cuba.Yamil Lage via Getty
Yamil Lage via Getty
Conditions were also predicted to deteriorate in the Tampa Bay region on Tuesday, theTampa Bay Timesreported, with strong winds and 6 to inches of rain expected in some areas.
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Florida residents fill sandbags to ward off flooding ahead of Hurricane Idalia on Tuesday.Juan Manuel Barrero Bueno/Bloomberg via Getty
Juan Manuel Barrero Bueno/Bloomberg via Getty
A major hurricane is classified as Category 3 or higher on theSaffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. A Category 3 hurricane will bring forth devastating damage at sustained winds of 111–129 mph, while a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 157 mph or higher will wreak catastrophic damage.
Idalia is expected to head to Georgia over South and North Carolina next. BothGeorgiaandNorth Carolinaare under states of emergency.
source: people.com
