Storm hits Florida with torrential downpour and 74mph winds knocking out power for 120,000

Palm-Beach-flooding

Important Takeaways:

  • ‘Hurricane equivalent’ winds and torrential rains leave more than 120,000 without power in Florida as more than 7million are under flood watch
  • Nearly 120,000 homes in Florida are without power after ‘hurricane’ level winds and torrential rain hit the state overnight.
  • Thousands of people have woken up in the dark across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach amid hurricane-force winds, with over 7 million people under flood watch.
  • The National Weather Service has called the wind speeds recorded in some of these areas ‘hurricane equivalent’, as they topped 74mph.
  • In an advisory, they said: ‘Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines. Widespread power outages are expected.’
  • Forecasters have said that rainfall today will likely reach five to eight inches across Miami and the Fort Lauderdale areas of South Florida, with some areas being hit with 12 inches, according to Fox Weather.
  • Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had to declare a state of emergency as storms caused mass flooding, after they dumped two feet of rain in a matter of hours.

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Florida restores power and begins clean up after Idalia wreaks havoc

Idalia Gas Station

Important Takeaways:

  • Idalia turns deadly, wreaks havoc from Florida to the Carolinas
  • Two men were killed in weather-related crashes, which may be linked to Idalia, as nearly half of a million power outages resulted from the storm. Fierce storm surge engulfed homes and caused destruction along Florida’s Gulf Coast.
  • Over half of a million power outages resulted from the storm across Florida and Georgia at its peak, according to PowerOutage.us. Winds gusted to 85 mph in Florida and over 60 mph in Georgia and the South Carolina coast. The number of outages has decreased since peaking on Wednesday, falling to around 310,000 by late Wednesday night and 133,000 by early Friday morning.
  • AccuWeather’s preliminary estimate of the total damage and economic loss from Hurricane Idalia in the southeastern United States is $18 billion to $20 billion.

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Tropical Storm Idalia moves to North Carolina after damaging thousands of Florida homes

Backyard-Flooded-Idalia

Important Takeaways:

  • Tropical Storm Idalia keeps pounding the Southeast’s Atlantic coast, prompting flash flood warnings in North Carolina
  • Thousands of homes are damaged in Florida – some with shredded walls and roofs, others with knee-high, murky floodwater that officials warn could be dangerous for days to come.
  • Between 2 and 5 inches of rain have fallen in parts of southeastern North Carolina, including the Wilmington area, where a flash flood warning was in effect early Thursday, the National Weather Service said.
  • South Carolina’s Charleston Harbor saw its waters spike to higher than 9 feet, making it the fifth-highest level ever recorded, the National Weather Service said.
  • As of early Thursday, about 150,000 homes and businesses were without power in Florida. Another 110,000 outages were in Georgia, about 50,000 were reported in the Carolinas, PowerOutage.us reported

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Following Idalia landfall Gov. Ron DeSantis warned potential thieves ‘You never know what’s behind that door’

DeSantis Idalia

Important Takeaways:

  • Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned potential thieves that anyone who tries to loot amid the chaos of Hurricane Idalia will have to face severe consequences.
  • “You loot, we shoot,” Ron said during a recent press conference, according to New York Post.
  • “People have a right to defend their property. This part of Florida, you got a lot of advocates and proponents of the Second Amendment

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Idalia lands in Florida as a Cat 3 storm; power outages on the rise

Satellite Hurricane Idalia

Important Takeaways:

  • The eye of Idalia roared ashore early Wednesday morning with the storm making landfall near Keaton Beach, Florida, at 7:45 a.m. EDT. Maximum sustained winds were 125 mph at the time of landfall, making it a Category 3.
  • Idalia lost some wind intensity on its final approach, with maximum sustained winds peaking at 130 mph late Tuesday night, the minimum wind speed required to be classified as a Category 4.
  • The number of power outages is creeping upward with nearly 66,000 outages as of 6:25 a.m. EDT Wednesday, according to PowerOutage.us. This number is up from 44,000 from two hours prior, and outages are expected to climb throughout Wednesday as Idalia makes landfall and moves inland.

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Hurricane Idalia branded ‘an unprecedented event’ largest storm in 127 years to hit the Big Bend area

Hurricane Idalia

Important Takeaways:

  • Eyewall of monster CAT-3 Hurricane Idalia batters Florida’s Big Bend as 16ft storm surge floods homes and leaves more than 200,000 without power: Thousands flee north
  • It’s the strongest storm to make landfall in the Big Bend region in 127 years, matching an unnamed hurricane in 1896.
  • Idalia surged to a Category 4 storm in the early hours because of warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, reaching speeds of up to 156mph – before dropping to 125mph shortly after 7am.
  • The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) has warned of catastrophic storm surges of up to 12 to 16 feet in the worst affected areas.
  • St Petersburg Police shared a video of the level of flooding which was sweeping away homes at a mobile trailer park, and confirmed they had already rescued one person by 6:50am.
  • Hurricane Idalia has been branded ‘an unprecedented event’ by the National Weather Service in Tallahassee.
  • Idalia could spawn tornadoes as far south as Tampa and Sarasota, east to Jacksonville and north to the Georgia coast later today.
  • During a press conference on Wednesday, Governor Ron DeSantis warned ‘don’t mess with this storm’ as the power briefly went out from his headquarters.
  • He added that there have been 11 tornado warnings issued, saying: ‘It’s going to be a significant, significant impact.’

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Strongest storm in a century to hit Florida’s Big Bend

Satellite-Hurricane-Idalia

Important Takeaways:

  • Idalia could be strongest storm to hit the Florida Big Bend for a CENTURY as it officially becomes a hurricane: 14 MILLION are placed under severe weather warnings ahead of 150mph winds and 12ft storm surge
  • Hurricane Idalia is due to hit Florida in the night to Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane
  • The growing intensity of the storm is causing experts to predict a storm surge as high as 12 feet, with winds potentially reaching 150mph
  • Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has warned Floridians to ‘buckle up’ during a news conference

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Hurricane experts warning that Idalia will rapidly intensify the closer it gets to Florida

Hurricane Idalia

Important Takeaways:

  • Hurricane Warning in effect as AccuWeather warns Idalia will undergo explosive strengthening ahead of Florida landfall
  • AccuWeather hurricane experts say the storm will rapidly intensify into a powerful major hurricane over the eastern Gulf of Mexico before making landfall in the state’s Big Bend area of the coast.
  • An ‘extreme’ risk for impacts is now in place for a portion of the Sunshine State, centered around the region bridging the Gulf coasts of the panhandle and peninsula. This area will be most at risk for life-threatening storm surge flooding, damaging winds and torrential rain as Hurricane Idalia approaches on Wednesday morning.
  • Officials issued mandatory evacuation orders on Monday for parts of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties in Florida due to life-threatening conditions anticipated
  • Given the risk for rapid intensification, an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 155 mph is possible near landfall near the panhandle and Big Bend of Florida. AccuWeather hurricane experts are forecasting Idalia to come ashore as a major hurricane, with Category 3 level winds (111 to 129 mph) on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
  • It’s not out of the question that some portions of Tampa Bay could have a storm surge of 7 or 8 feet, according to AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski. The greatest storm surge, perhaps as high as 10-15 feet, is expected near and just to the southeast of Idalia’s landfall.
  • Where the most intense rainfall occurs, rainfall totals can approach an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 18 inches, which would lead to major, life-threatening flooding, since most of the rain will fall over the span of 12 hours or less.
  • “Tornadoes can also occur to the east of the center of the circulation as it moves across Florida”

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Expected Hurricane could bring 11ft storm surge as Governor DeSantis declares State of Emergency

Idalia Storm-Surge-Forecast

Important Takeaways:

  • Tropical Storm Idalia update: Florida declares state of emergency as storm is expected to make landfall as Category 2 hurricane with 100mph winds and 11ft storm surges
  • A state of emergency has been declared in more than 30 Florida counties as Tropical Storm Idalia is expected to barrel into the coast as a Category 2 hurricane on Wednesday – with forecasters warning of storm surges, landslides and mass power outages.
  • Idalia looks set to develop into a hurricane on Tuesday in the Gulf of Mexico and then curve northeast toward the west coast of Florida, where it could make landfall with winds of up to 100mph.
  • Along a vast stretch of Florida’s west coast, up to 11 feet of ocean water could surge onshore, raising fears of destructive flooding.
  • DeSantis’ declaration covers the Gulf coast from the southwestern city of Fort Myers north through Panama City in the Panhandle.
  • Thirty-three of the state’s 67 counties are covered in the declaration.

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Tropical system brewing: FL Emergency team directed to prepare

Important Takeaways:

  • Florida could be in sights of tropical system brewing, hurricane center says
  • A tropical depression or storm has a high chance of forming from a system moving north toward the Gulf of Mexico with the potential to hit Florida, the National Hurricane Center said.
  • “I’ve directed @KevinGuthrieFL & the FL Emergency Management team to prepare for a potential tropical system currently moving across the Yucatán Peninsula,” Gov. Ron DeSantis posted on X on Thursday night. “Residents should remain vigilant and prepare for possible impacts early next week.”
  • “Environmental conditions appear conducive for gradual development of this system during the next several days, and a tropical depression is likely to form late this weekend or early next week while moving generally northward over the northwestern Caribbean Sea and eastern Gulf of Mexico,” forecasters said.

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