Hurricane Idalia expected to bring ‘catastrophic’ storm surge to Florida

Hurricane Idalia was downgraded to a Category 3 storm early Wednesday morning as it approaches Florida’s Gulf coast.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC), however, stressed that the technical change in category did not mean the threat posed by the storm should be dismissed.

“This change in wind speed does not diminish the threat of catastrophic storm surge and damaging winds,” a 7 a.m. NHC update read, warning still of a “catastrophic storm surge” and “destructive winds occurring in the Florida Big Bend region.”

By 7 a.m. Wednesday, the maximum sustained winds of Hurricane Idalia reached 125 mph, a slight dip from the 130 mph recorded at 5 a.m., which briefly made the storm a Category 4 hurricane.

The National Hurricane Center considers storms to be Category 3 if sustained winds are at 111-129 mph. A Category 4 storm is categorized by sustained winds of 130-156 mph. There are five categories of storms, with categories 3-5 considered “major.”

As of 7 a.m. Wednesday, the storm was located about 55 miles northwest of Cedar Key, Fla., about 65 miles south-southeast of Tallahassee.

Storm surge remains a key concern as the hurricane approaches the coast. The NOAA National Ocean Service tide gauge reported a water level higher than normal.

“The combination of storm surge and tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline,” the NHC’s 5 a.m. bulletin read. 

The NHC said the highest water level estimate could reach 16 feet above ground if the peak surge comes at high tide, an increase from the estimated 15 feet above ground late Tuesday.