Hurricane Idalia (2023)

Idalia, which formed near the Yucatan Channel, made landfall near Keaton Beach, Florida, around 7:45 a.m. EDT (1145 UTC) on August 30, 2023, as a Category 3 hurricane with 100-knot (115 mph) winds.¹ It weakened to a tropical storm over southern Georgia about 6 hours later and moved off the South Carolina coast near Myrtle Beach early on August 31.¹

Storm surge put 8 to 12 feet of water above ground from Keaton Beach to Steinhatchee, and NWS crews found homes along the Steinhatchee River flooded 5 to 7 feet above ground.¹ Surge reached 6 to 9 feet above ground from south of Steinhatchee to the Suwannee River, and aerial images of Horseshoe Beach showed a few structures pulled off their foundations.¹ Surge of 5 to 7 feet reached the coast from the Suwannee River to Chassahowitzka, including Cedar Key, and 3 to 5 feet reached the Tampa Bay area, where water rose up to 1 foot inside homes.¹ The highest reported gust was 74 knots (85 mph) in Perry.¹ In Suwannee County, where the eyewall crossed, NWS surveys found roofs heavily damaged, rooftop HVAC units lost, and barns, carports and outbuildings destroyed, with gusts estimated near 100 mph.² In Live Oak, siding, roofs, carports and covered walkways were heavily damaged.²

In South Carolina, rain and surge flooded several structures in Charleston and numerous homes in Edisto Beach, and the top rain total was 13.55 inches at Holly Hill.¹ Idalia produced 12 tornadoes, including an EF-1 that damaged some buildings in Brunswick, Georgia.¹ NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information estimates $3.6 billion in damage, most of it in Florida's Big Bend, and wind and rain damaged tens of thousands of structures in southwest, central and northeast Florida.¹ NHC counts 12 deaths, all in the US, 9 of them direct.¹