Hurricane Season

Tropical Storm Idalia descended on the Carolinas on its way out to the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, leaving a trail of flooding and destruction that stretched back to its landfall in Florida.

More than half a million utility customers lost power during the storm, which crashed ashore around 7:45 a.m. EST Wednesday in Taylor County’s Keaton Beach area.

After a record hot summer, warmer waters in the Gulf of Mexico fueled the intensity of Hurricane Idalia. It briefly reached Category 4 just before landfall.

As the storm begins to clear the Wakulla area, officials are taking stock of the damage and in some cases expressing gratitude that it wasn’t worse.

Hurricane Idalia officially made landfall as a Category 3 Major Hurricane with sustained winds of 125 MPH near Keaton Beach at 7:45 EDT.

“You really got to go back to the late 1800s to find a storm of this magnitude that will enter (the state) where this one looks like it’s going to enter tomorrow,” Gov. DeSantis said Tuesday evening.

Ahead of Hurricane Idalia making landfall, evacuations (mandatory and voluntary) have been issued for several coastal counties in Florida.

Emergency Officials from both counties announced its plans on Tuesday, less than 24 hours before the storm is expected to make landfall.

The National Hurricane Center says models indicate Hurricane Idalia will make landfall in the area of Apalachee Bay, which is near Tallahassee in the northeast Gulf of Mexico.

1.6 million people in 22 Gulf Coast counties are under evacuation orders, as Idalia is expected to cause life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds in North Florida.