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CEDAR KEY, Florida − Hurricane Idalia eased slightly Wednesday to a Category 3 storm with sustained winds at 125 mph, just 65 miles from the state’s capital Tallahassee and bearing down on Florida’s Big Bend with “catastrophic” storm surge.
“This change in wind speed does not diminish the threat of catastrophic storm surge and damaging winds,” the National Weather Service said in a 7 a.m. update.
Idalia was reported to be speeding north-northeast at 18 mph. Ryan Truchelut, Chief Meteorologist at WeatherTiger who provides forecasts for the USA TODAY Network, said the storm should soon crash onto the shore somewhere south of Perry in central Taylor County, southeast of Tallahassee and one of the most rural and economically challenged areas of the state.
The weather service in Tallahassee described the storm as an “unprecedented event,” saying no major hurricane − Category 3 or higher − had ever slammed the Big Bend’s Apalachee Bay.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 49 of the state’s 67 counties across the northern half of the state from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Coast. He urged those in evacuation zones to do so immediately.
“Please hunker down wherever you are,” DeSantis said at a briefing Wednesday. “Don’t mess with this storm, don’t put yourself in jeopardy.”
Developments
∎ After landfall, Idalia is forecast to turn toward the northeast and east-northeast, moving near or along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina late Wednesday and Thursday.
∎ A hurricane warning has been issued for the eastern coast of the United States from Altamaha Sound, Georgia, to Edisto Beach, South Carolina.
∎ An “extreme wind warning” was in effect for Steinhatchee, Horseshoe Beach and Dekle Beach, Florida, until 9:15 a.m. “Treat these imminent extreme winds as if a tornado was approaching and move immediately to an interior room or shelter NOW!” the weather service in Tallahassee said.
Follow the path of Idalia as storm nears Florida
This forecast track shows the most likely path of the center of the storm but does not illustrate the full width of the storm or its impacts, and the center of the storm is likely to travel outside the cone up to 33% of the time.
‘Near apocalpytic scene’ on Cedar Key
A weather service tide gauge at Cedar Key reported a water level of 5.2 feet above “mean higher highwater, which is an approximation of inundation in that area,” the weather service said. Michael Bobbitt, a clam fisherman who decided to stay on Cedar Key to help rescue people who have refused to leave, told USA TODAY just after 6 a.m., “it’s a near apocalyptic scene here.” Bobbitt said storm surge from Hurricane Idalia “completely swallowed our boat ramps,” all of Dock Street and First Street, where the historic downtown begins, and is racing farther inland.
He added that “worst case scenario” predictions of storm surge in Cedar Key may very well occur as Hurricane Idalia, now a category 4, continues toward the Big Bend coast.
Fleeing Taylor County, hunkering down in a shelter
Harold Weaver has spent 55 of his 60 years in Taylor County. He’s weathered storms, big and small, but he’s not taking a chance with Hurricane Idalia. Weaver didn’t want to risk staying in his apartment behind the sawmill in Perry, Florida, which is just 20 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. He has his 4-year-old grandson, Karim, to worry about. He and his family took a shuttle from Perry to Tallahassee to weather the storm in one of the seven shelters in Tallahassee
“This one is too big,” Weaver said. “I had a gut feeling, I need to get out.”
Forrest Allen and his wife Sheila traveled to Rickards High School on Tuesday afternoon from Taylor County where officials issued a mandatory evacuation order and closed shelters.
“We have an old house and it’s not in the best condition,” Forrest Allen said. “We did the best we could with boarding up the windows, but we really don’t know where we stand.”
− Ana Goñi-Lessan and Alaijah Brown, Tallahassee Democrat
Access to Clearwater Beach roadways shut down
In Clearwater, 20 miles east of Tampa, access to Clearwater Beach, Gulf Boulevard and the causeway were closed. Residents leaving the islands won’t be allowed to return until storm impact subsides, the city said on its website.
“We are seeing issues with flooding and debris in the roads from #Idalia,” Clearwater police tweeted. “Our best advice is for everyone to stay home and off the roads for several hours.”
Major flooding underway
TAMPA − Flooding shut down much of Gulf Boulevard, the roadway connecting Pinellas County’s barrier islands. Access to the Pinellas barrier islands was closed, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office announced shortly before 6 a.m. Other coastal roadways are also seeing flooding, some traffic signals are out, and wind is gusting from 40- 60 mph, authorities said. Residents on the islands may still evacuate.
The storm’s eye has already passed off-shore on its way to landfall in the state’s Big Bend. But flooding in the Tampa Bay region has just begun, ahead of this afternoon’s high tide expeced around 2 p.m. A gauge in St. Petersburg has reached major flood level with the water more than five feet above Tuesday’s high tide and rising.
“Flooding conditions could continue even after winds from Hurricane Idalia have subsided,” the emergency alert said.
− Dan Glaun, Fort Myers News-Press
Downtown deserted ahead of the storm
In Cedar Key’s quaint downtown and Dock Street area, the streets lined with restaurants and local shops on stilts were deserted. Metal and wood boards were nailed over windows and doors of beloved eateries, clashing with the pastel signage of restaurants bearing the names Tipsy Cow, Steamers and Duncan’s on the Gulf.
It’s one of a cluster of islands in the Gulf Coast known for its wildlife, with about 800 residents and only one road going in or out.
Jordan Keeton, 39, owns 83 West, the largest restaurant on the island. It juts out over the Gulf of Mexico and both floors are surrounded by windows. He and his family and friends were moving out the last of the most valuable items, including a wooden bench shaped like a boat, which has been with the restaurant for over 50 years, he said.
“Our house is rated at a (Category) 5. I’m not worried about it there,” he said.. “This one, not so much. So we’ll see what happens.”
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