The eye of Hurricane Idalia made landfall this Thursday on the northwestern coast of Florida, near Keaton Beach, with winds of 125 miles per hour (205 km/h), the US National Hurricane Center reported.
The impact occurred around 7:45 a.m. (1145 GMT), according to data from an Air Force Reserve hurricane-hunting plane, and sea levels in the area are rising rapidly, the NHC said in a special bulletin.
On Cedar Key, farther south than Keaton Beach, a NOAA tide gauge buoy recorded a water level rise of 5.9 feet (1.7 meters). The hurricane is now moving north-northeast at 18 miles per hour (30 km/h).
According to the winds recorded by the hurricane hunter plane, Idalia was a hurricane with Category 3 winds when it made landfall. About two hours before landing, its winds were 130 miles per hour (225 km/h), that is, category 4.
According to the NHC, although Idalia should weaken after landfall, it is likely to remain a hurricane as it moves across southern Georgia and near the coast of Georgia or southern South Carolina late today.
Even if it moves away from the coast, the storm surge combined with the natural tide will continue to cause flooding of normally dry coastal areas.
Web cameras in the Big Bend area showed a rough and swollen sea shortly after dawn today.
The beach boulevards of many coastal towns were invaded by the sea, as seen in those cameras spread all over the coast that allow you to see the hurricanes live without risking the least.
The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, repeated this Thursday morning his call to “stay safe, not put your life in danger,” by listing the risks that Idalia entails and the forces that the state has prepared to respond to the emergency. in areas such as health, the rescue of people, energy, connectivity and mobility.
Authorities have warned that the greatest danger is the rise of the sea, which can rise to more than 15 feet (4.5 meters) in some parts of the northeast Florida coast.
On storm surge, DeSantis stressed: “It’s a big, big, very dangerous thing” to stay away from.
In addition to hurricane and storm surge watches for northwestern Florida, the NHC issued a hurricane watch this morning for the US east coast from Altamaha Sound in Georgia to Edisto Beach in South Carolina.
There are also minor advisories for areas of North Carolina and Virginia.
