According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Idalia made landfall along the Gulf Coast of Florida around 7:45 a.m. EDT on August 30 as a Category 3 hurricane. The NHC is continuing to map the storm’s path, and as of 9:00 a.m. EDT, a catastrophic storm surge was occurring with damaging winds spreading inland over Northern Florida.
Idalia is expected to bring excessive rainfall along its path from Florida through the Carolinas. The heavy rain could shift depending on the storm’s exact path.
Peak storm surge forecast in Florida. (Image: National Hurricane Center)
This hurricane and future storms this hurricane season, have the potential to become supercharged as sea surface temperatures have clocked record high temperatures.
Idalia is the ninth named storm to form in the Atlantic in 2023.
In late May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted that there would be 12 to 17 named storms this year. However, on Aug. 10, NOAA revised its estimate to 14 to 21 storms.
There were 14 named storms last year, after two extremely busy Atlantic hurricane seasons in which forecasters ran out of names and had to resort to backup lists, reported The New York Times.
Readers can stay updated with Hurricane Idalia at the NHC website.
Image: National Hurricane Center