25 Terrifying Pics And Videos That Show Just How Wildly Powerful Hurricane Idalia Is
1. Hurricane Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach at 7:45 a.m. as an "extremely dangerous" Category 3 storm.
7:45 AM EDT update: Extremely dangerous Category 3 Hurricane #Idalia makes landfall in the Florida Big Bend. Maximum sustained winds were estimated to be 125 mph. Catastrophic storm surge and damaging winds ongoing. pic.twitter.com/umMdj8dD5d
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 30, 2023
2. It was the first hurricane to hit Florida's Big Bend area in over 170 years.
#Idalia has preliminarily tied the record for the strongest hurricane landfall in Florida's Big Bend since 1851: https://t.co/oiJZJU0Mzu
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) August 30, 2023
3. And it really was a monster of a storm:
Hurricane #Idalia from space: pic.twitter.com/RaM4oLT3mj
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) August 29, 2023
4. This satellite picture shows Hurricanes Idalia and Franklin spinning simultaneously off the coast of the United States, which you don't see every day.
Satellite imagery shows Hurricanes #Idalia & Franklin simultaneously spinning off the coast of the United States. pic.twitter.com/4lNXGm1tDQ
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) August 29, 2023
5. By daybreak, we had our first views of the disastrous storm surge.
Water as far as the eye can see! #Idalia Cedar Key, FL pic.twitter.com/7D6rXfMMax
— Jim Cantore (@JimCantore) August 30, 2023
6. This time lapse shows how powerful that surge was:
INCREDIBLE VIDEO | Heartbreaking footage to watch. This is a time-lapse video from Steinhatchee, Florida early Wednesday morning as storm surge from Hurricane Idalia pushed ashore. Surge values could top out over 10 feet in spots around this location. #Idalia #FLwx pic.twitter.com/xyMABT0Ylq
— Zach Covey (@ZachCoveyTV) August 30, 2023
7. Legendary meteorologist Jim Cantore called it "incredible."
Incredible #Idalia storm surge 6’ and counting here at Cedar Key, FL pic.twitter.com/8MzaHJpWce
— Jim Cantore (@JimCantore) August 30, 2023
8. By 8 a.m., the storm surge was up to 10 feet in places.
The storm surge from Hurricane Idalia left much of Cedar Key underwater. As of 8am, water was up to 10 feet in some places.Video: WFLA pic.twitter.com/eOf6lcHMRo
— Ricky Matthews (@WAVY_RickyM) August 30, 2023
9. You can see a stop sign in this video, which shows just how high that water was:
🌀STORM SURGE: Look at this stop sign and storm surge gage in Cedar Key, FL. This was taken as the high floodwaters from Hurricane Idalia pushed on shore. Real-time updates: https://t.co/jivQCzFbwW#hurricaneidalia #hurricane #idalia pic.twitter.com/85ofwJO1ZB
— WXII DaVonté McKenith (@DaVonteMcKenith) August 30, 2023
10. Some of these before and after shots are straight up mind-boggling.
Major storm surge in Horseshoe Beach, FL from Hurricane Idalia. [Before/After] pic.twitter.com/njzchmVmyc
— Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) August 30, 2023
11. Idalia caused waves to crash on the Courtney Campbell Causeway near Clearwater and the Tampa area.
#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
12. As Tampa meteorologist Paul Dellegatto said, "If Idalia made landfall just north of Tampa Bay, it would have been a life-changing storm for many."
Not to “hype” or “fear monger” but if Idalia made landfall just north of Tampa Bay, it would have been a life changing storm for many. https://t.co/K8Sd4gqVlb
— Paul Dellegatto⚡️FOX (@PaulFox13) August 30, 2023
13. From fires in Hernando Beach...
Awful situation in Hernando Beach. Photos from @HernandoCoFire show firefighters had to try to battle flames and flooding today. #HurricaneIdalia pic.twitter.com/TucuDN5QQY
— Aaron Mesmer FOX 13 (@AaronMesmer) August 30, 2023
14. ...to extremely high winds and flying debris near Keaton Beach:
Debris flying during live report from Keaton Beach, FL. 🎥: ABC Action News #Idalia #flwx pic.twitter.com/ffWZUAyZQy
— Scott 🇺🇸 (@ChaseTheWX) August 30, 2023
15. Some of these videos are straight up apocalyptic:
Below is a video taken from a homeowner on Dark Island, which is about 1 mile south of Keaton Beach, as Hurricane Idalia made landfall. This is what a large storm surge can do. Good luck Tallahassee and all my fellow Floridians. Last year we went through Hurricane Ian here in… pic.twitter.com/BQGEieBZvR
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) August 30, 2023
16.In Cedar Key, the Fire Rescue warned people to stay inside because propane tanks were blowing off all over the island.
17. This video shows condos being slammed with waves in Cedar Key:
Storm surge from Hurricane #Idalia in Cedar Key, FL this morning: pic.twitter.com/Ih1gYKzUTZ
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) August 30, 2023
18.And here's another picture of that house:
19. As of right now, Idalia is pulling away from Florida, and we're just seeing the extent of the damage.
HURRICANE IDALIA IN SWFL 🌀 New pictures showing the local impacts from the storm. We thankfully avoided a direct landfall, but we ended up having 3 - 4 feet of storm surge, wind gusts up to 60 mph and over 6"+ of rain for parts of Southwest Florida. Thank you for trusting WINK… pic.twitter.com/OBZ2v5QV7y
— Matt Devitt (@MattDevittWINK) August 30, 2023
20. Tornado and flood alerts are being called off.
A beautiful sight for Central Florida!All tornado and flood alerts are cancelled for the area. pic.twitter.com/HCcvogQKIB
— Zach Covey (@ZachCoveyTV) August 30, 2023
21. Power crews are already getting to work.
Crews are actively restoring service to electric customers around town who were impacted by #Idalia. Since midnight, 12,000 customers have had service restored. #IdaliaTLH pic.twitter.com/k9g6sI748Q
— City of Tallahassee (@CityofTLH) August 30, 2023
22. Rescue workers are out in full force.
More footage from Tarpon Springs. Working with fire rescue responding to calls for service. #Idalia pic.twitter.com/kZAeEjapPw
— Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (@SheriffPinellas) August 30, 2023
23.The "Marsh Master" is being put to good use.
24. And flamingos were spotted in South Florida.
Rare *flamingos* spotted on the Sanibel Causeway after Hurricane #Idalia passed by Southwest Florida! @WINKNews @spann @stormhour pic.twitter.com/yrRSvLcFsd
— Matt Devitt (@MattDevittWINK) August 30, 2023
25. Let the cleanup begin.
Wares Creek area among flooded roads in Bradenton. We're keeping a running list at https://t.co/3KbnwxKq8S. Stay inside and let law enforcement and cleanup crews do their work. #Idalia pic.twitter.com/Txo6oM63py
— City of Bradenton (@BradentonGov) August 30, 2023
