Hurricane Idalia Makes Landfall As Category 3 Major Storm

By Susie Madrak — August 30, 2023

Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend as a dangerous Category 3 major storm with 125 mph winds on Wednesday morning. Via the Orlando Sentinel:

The National Hurricane Center said radar imagery shows the eye of the storm, which had grown to Category 4 status with 130 mph winds hours, made landfall at 7:45 a.m. near Keaton Beach in Taylor County just north of Steinhatchee.

The center of the storm is about 20 miles south of Perry and 55 miles northwest of Cedar Key moving north-northeast at 18 mph.

The drop in intensity came as the NHC said the storm was going through an eyewall replacement cycle.

Inland rainfall will be a problem through Florida, South Georgia , and Carolinas. As the wind speeds come down in the hours after landfall, Idalia remains a major flooding threat. pic.twitter.com/PWYxESEfK4

— Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) August 30, 2023

Some slightly good news.

Hurricane Idalia has begun an eyewall replacement cycle prior to landfall and weakened to 125 mph (Category 3)
The central pressure has come up to 947 mb as well.

"Radar and Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft data indicate that an eyewall… pic.twitter.com/HtEqHzC9nh

— Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) August 30, 2023

Hurricane #Idalia just made landfall near Fish Creek, Florida 🐟 🎣 as a strong category 3 hurricane. #Idalia was also in the initial stages of an eyewall replacement cycle at landfall, with a concentric outer band of convection & a secondary wind maxima developing ~ 2.5-3… pic.twitter.com/NVOKvzPpy9

— Eric Webb (@webberweather) August 30, 2023

Here’s a current look at the estimated wind field from the 8AM EDT NHC advisory. Winds down a bit to 120 mph. #Idalia will continue to weaken now that it’s over land. Should be a category 2 as it rolls into SE GA this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/iOyphQOG2q

— Hurricane Tracker App (@hurrtrackerapp) August 30, 2023

St Pete and Clearwater… #Idalia #HurricaneIdalia pic.twitter.com/SBUOasTO8y

— Chris Nelson 🇺🇸 🏝 (@ReOpenChris) August 30, 2023

HAPPENING NOW: @ABCNewsLive has ongoing coverage as Hurricane Idalia makes landfall in Florida as a Category 3 hurricane. https://t.co/qc9dyvzwCN https://t.co/0AwGlddiAh

— ABC News (@ABC) August 30, 2023

Incredible #Idalia storm surge 6’ and counting here at Cedar Key, FL pic.twitter.com/8MzaHJpWce

— Jim Cantore (@JimCantore) August 30, 2023

#BREAKING - Catastrophic winds from Hurricane Idalia into Tampa Bay are increasing the flooding and the storm surge. Waves crash onto lanes of Courtney Campbell Causeway near Clearwater, Florida#idalia #hurricaneidalia #TampaBay #Idalia #Hurricane #HurricaneIdalia #Florida… pic.twitter.com/EczdoHx37N

— mishikasingh (@mishika_singh) August 30, 2023

Watch: “Incredible bands coming through here: Idalia is throwing haymakers right now,” Fox’s @RobertRayWx in Clearwater as #Hurricane #Idalia hits and @JaniceDean reports landfall near Fish Creek pic.twitter.com/l7FbvaYhCr

— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) August 30, 2023

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