Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida on Wednesday morning, bringing damaging storm surges and Category 2-strength winds to the state.
Footage captured by extreme meteorologist Reed Timmer shows the moment Idalia blew the doors off a condo complex in Cedar Keys, Florida, sending torrents of water and debris into what appears to be a series of homes. While the BBC reported that “downtown Cedar Key is underwater,” video shared Wednesday morning shows a fast-moving flow of water that did not appear to breach more than halfway up the front door of most properties.
Storm surge causing structural damage and blowing out the doors of condo complex in Cedar Key, FL from Hurricane Idalia @accuweather pic.twitter.com/WAJgBtZtku
— Reed Timmer, PhD (@ReedTimmerAccu) August 30, 2023
Photographs and videos from Perry, Florida, revealed the rain continuing to pour. Strong winds throughout the area ripped apart large trees, likely causing huge damage to infrastructure.
Powerful winds from #Hurricane #Idalia blew trees down on homes in Perry, Florida. Streets are blocked.
LIVE coverage on @AccuWeather pic.twitter.com/JcMhSYXEMp
— Bill Wadell (@BillWadell) August 30, 2023
One of the craziest videos shared online apparently shows the Steinhatchee River flowing in reverse as Hurricane Idalia’s storm surges moved inland. Sailing boats were unable to stop moving with the flow of water, and splintered as their masts hit a bridge over the waterway.
Hurricane Idalia’s stormsurge is making the Steinhatchee River flow in reverse, making all the sail boats crashing into the bridge 😳🌊
Credits – chasing_stories#Hurricane #Idalia #HurricaneIdalia #Weather #Forecast #Florida #FLO #Tampa #Carolina #Desantis #Georgia… pic.twitter.com/YpZy20zcZs
— T R U T H P O L E (@Truthpole) August 30, 2023
But by far the most intimidating video shared thus far shows the eyewall around Idalia as it hit Madison, Florida, on Wednesday morning. The calmness of the video is haunting, and it was surely short-lived.
The eye and eyewall of hurricane Idalia from Madison FL a little while ago.@foxweather pic.twitter.com/GvUmwUZ1vJ
— Mark Sudduth (@hurricanetrack) August 30, 2023
Idalia initially started as a weak tropical depression before ramping up to almost a Category 4-sized storm. When it eventually hit Florida, it was downgraded to a Cat. 3, before moving to a Cat. 2 status. The National Weather Service in Tallahassee announced Idalia is a Cat. 1 hurricane at roughly 11 a.m. Wednesday. (RELATED: Massive Hazard Warnings Issued From Florida To The Carolinas Over Two Major Storm Systems)
The National Hurricane Center said the storm surge will continue through Wednesday and into Thursday. Hurricane-force winds will also hit Georgia and South Carolina as the storm continues, before hitting North Carolina throughout Thursday.