Idalia Made Landfall, Local Impacts Begin Later Today

Nicole Madden,

AM Headlines:
  • Idalia is now a Cat 3 major hurricane
  • Made landfall at 7:45am near Keaton Beach, FL
  • Rain bands will begin to reach the region late morning/early afternoon
  • Greatest Impacts Wed 2pm – Thu 8am
    • Flood Watches in effect near and south of I-85
      • 1-3″ of rain near I-85
      • 3-5″ of rain to the south and east toward the coast
    • Gusts up to 20-30 mph are possible tonight into early Thursday
    • Little to no impacts north and west of I-85
    • Tornado threat greatest near the Carolina coast
Discussion:
Idalia briefly strengthened before to a Cat 4 before beginning eyewall replacement cycle. It made landfall as a strong Cat 3 hurricane near Keaton Beach. Storm surge up to 15′ with flooding rain up to a foot will be possible for parts of the state. The storm will remain a hurricane as it blows into southern GA and near the SC coast later this evening. It will gradually weaken as it slides along the Carolina coast and out into the Atlantic through Thursday afternoon. Impacts will be greatest along the Carolina coast with storm surge up to 4′ and rainfall totals up to 8″. There is also a threat of isolated tornadoes to the east of center of Idalia, which puts the greatest threat near the Carolina coast as well.
Locally a trough and subsequent stalled boundary will help to guide Idalia back toward the coast and away from the area. However, there will be plenty of moisture available from these two systems and heavy rain near and south of I-85 is likely. The outer rain bands of Idalia will reach the area by late morning into early afternoon with the heaviest rain arriving early this evening. A flood watch is in effect until 8pm Thursday for the southern Piedmont. 1-3″ of rainfall possible near the I-85 corridor with 3-5″ possible for the far eastern fringe of the region. Gusts 20-30 mph will be likely for this region as well with gusts up to 40 mph possible for the far eastern fringe of the region. Strongest winds will arrive tonight through Thursday morning.
Conditions will improve greatly by Thursday afternoon as drier and cooler air moves in. We will have a wonderful taste of Fall with temps near 80 and lows in the upper 50s through the start of the weekend. Temps will rebound early next week with highs back into the upper 80s to low 90s by Monday.