Hurricane Idalia, now a Category 1 storm, is bringing damaging winds along with flash and river flooding to southern Georgia as Florida's Gulf Coast deals with high water levels.
Idalia made landfall in Florida's Big Bend at 7:45 a.m. on Wednesday near Keaton Beach as a Category 3 storm.
At 2 p.m. Wednesday, Idalia was located about 10 miles north-northwest of Valdosta, Georgia. The system had sustained winds of 75 miles an hour and was moving to the northeast at 20 miles per hour.
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale
Major Hurricanes are Category 3 and above
Category 1: 74 - 95mph winds
Category 2: 96 - 110 mph winds
Category 3: 111-129 mph winds
Category 4: 130-156 mph winds
Category 5: 157 mph winds or higher
WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT
Hurricane Warning:
- Altamaha Sound Georgia to Edisto Beach South Carolina
Hurricane Watch:
- Mouth of the St. Mary's River to Altamaha Sound
- Edisto Beach to South Santee River South Carolina
Storm Surge Warning:
- Englewood northward to Aucilla River Florida, including Tampa Bay
- St. Catherine's Sound Georgia to South Santee River South Carolina
Tropical Storm Warning:
- Bonita Beach northward to Suwanee River Florida, including Tampa Bay
- Volusia/Brvard County Line to Altahama Sound, Georgia
- North of Edisto Beach, South Carolina to the North Carolina/Virginia border
- Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds
Storm Surge Watch:
- Bonita Beach northward to Englewood, including Charlotte Harbor
- Mouth of the St. Mary's River to St. Catherine's Sound Georgia
- Beaufort Inlet to Ocracoke Inlet North Carolina
- Neuse and Pamlico Rivers North Carolina
HURRICANE RESOURCES
Idalia is expected to continue moving across southeastern Georgia through Wednesday evening and near the coast of South Carolina Wednesday night before moving off the North Carolina coast on Thursday.
The storm is forecast to weaken to a tropical storm as it moves near the coasts of northeastern South Carolina and North Carolina on Wednesday night and Thursday.