Major Hurricane Idalia Thrashes Florida Big Bend, Southeast Coast (RECAP)

H​urricane Idalia brought heavy rainfall, strong winds and feet of storm surge inundation to the Florida Gulf Coast in late August 2023 in the Gulf Coast's latest major hurricane onslaught.

A​t its peak, Idalia was a Category 4 hurricane with 130 mph in the northeastern Gulf.

I​dalia by the numbers:

-​ Minimum pressure: 940 mb

-​ Biggest known storm surge: Preliminary surveys show water levels reached 7 to 12 feet above ground level between Dekle Beach and Horseshoe Beach. The highest levels were between Keaton Beach and Steinhatchee.

-​ Highest noted wind gust on land: 85 mph in Perry, Florida

-​ Highest rainfall total: 11.57" in Mullins, North Carolina

-​ Biggest increase in winds: 55 mph in 24 hours

I​dalia's history: Tropical Depression Ten first formed just east of Cancún on Aug. 26. It then became Tropical Storm Idalia the following morning. Idalia almost made a complete counterclockwise loop while drifting around the northwestern Caribbean before finally pushing north into the Gulf of Mexico early on Aug. 29 and becoming a hurricane.

M​oving over extremely warm Gulf of Mexico water, including the loop current, Idalia then rapidly intensified from Category 1 to 4 intensity in just 24 hours from Aug. 29-30. Just prior to landfall, Idalia felt some wind shear and underwent an eyewall replacement cycle, knocking its intensity down a bit to a Category 3 hurricane at landfall along Florida's Big Bend coast.

Idalia's historic landfall: The center of Idalia came ashore near Keaton Beach, Florida, at 7:45 a.m. EDT with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, making it a strong Category 3. This preliminarily tied the strongest hurricane landfall on record in Florida's Big Bend region.

(​MORE: Recent 'I' Storms Have Been Notorious)

Idalia spent nearly 4 hours over North Florida as a hurricane. Leading up to landfall and as the hurricane pushed ashore, damaging wind gusts and destructive storm surge inundated Apalachee Bay. The highest storm surge inundation of normally dry ground occurred just east of where the center of Idalia made landfall in Florida's Big Bend.

Preliminary surveys show water levels reached 7 to 12 feet above ground level between Dekle Beach and Horseshoe Beach.

Steinhatchee, Florida, had a water rise of 7 feet in just one hour when the surge arrived. The surge even reversed the flow of the Steinhatchee River for a time and pushed sailboats broken free of their moorings into a bridge.

Less than 20 miles down the Big Bend Coast, a camera at least 10 feet above sea level caught the storm surge at Horseshoe Beach.

Other notable peak storm surge inundation included 8.9 feet in Cedar Key, 5.5 feet in Yankeetown and 4.6 feet in downtown Tampa (East Bay).

T​he highest wind gusts observed in Florida include 85 mph in Perry, 83 mph at Keaton Beach and 81 mph at Horsehoe Point. Wind gusts in Georgia were up to 73 mph in southeast Lowndes County and 67 mph on St. Simons Island. Higher winds were likely experienced where no weather observations were available.

T​he power of the wind and the abundance of trees across the region left nearly 500,000 customers without power by late on Aug. 30.

Trees were reported downed in several areas of northern Florida into southern Georgia, including one on the property of Florida's Governor's mansion in Tallahassee.

I​dalia tracks through Georgia and the Carolinas. With the assistance of a Hurricane Franklin-induced ridge to the east and a deepening trough to the west, Idiala, now as a tropical storm, accelerated northeastward along the Georgia and South Carolina coasts through early on August 31.

W​inds gusted as high as 69 mph along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolinas on August 30 as Idalia paralleled the coast.

T​he highest rainfall totals were between 8 and 12 inches along the Southeast Coast.

W​ater reportedly entered a nursing home in Metter, Georgia, between Savannah and Macon. Dirt roads in Bulloch and Candler Counties were reportedly washed out, as well.

F​looding blocked an exit off Interstate 75 at mile marker 11 just south of Valdosta, just one of several roads flooded in that area.

A​nd flood water was reportedly in several businesses in Orangeburg, South Carolina, late on August 30.

S​torm surge flooding in Charleston, South Carolina, during the evening high tide on Aug. 30, reached the fifth highest level on record, about 3.5 feet above normal high tide. That was the highest coastal flood event, there, since Hurricane Irma almost six years ago. When Irma was retired as a hurricane name after 2017, it was replaced in the name list by Idalia.

Water breached the Charleston Battery and dunes were breached at Edisto Beach flowing under homes, according to the National Weather Service.

At least a few tornadoes were confirmed during Idalia's passage, including one in the Charleston suburb of Goose Creek, which flipped a car,​ and also confirmed by radar near Wilmington, North Carolina.

T​ropical Storm Idalia came off the coast near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in the pre-dawn hours of August 31st while still producing strong gusts and heavy rain in eastern North Carolina.

W​inds gusted between 40 and 55 mph along the coast of North Carolina, including at Hatteras. Piney Island, just northeast of Beaufort, reported a gust to 74 mph early on Aug. 31. Gusts to 50 mph have been reported as far north as the Virginia Tidewater.

M​oderate surge flooding has also been observed in the Outer Banks and southeast Virginia, including the city of Norfolk.

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