Idalia appears to be coming ashore near Steinhatchee, Florida. As I was writing this post reports came in that Idalia made landfall at Keaton Beach, just northwest of Steinhatchee, at around 8am. Wind speeds had dropped just enough that Idalia was “downgraded” from category 4 to category 3. But still, it’s a devastating disaster from Tampa all up the Gulf coast to Tallahassee.

What is remarkable is to look at the map and see Idalia’s influence up into south Georgia, all the way to Savannah and Charleston, SC. It also shows why you don’t want a hurricane to pass under you. The northwest quadrant is where the most wind and rain is generated in a hurricane. Orlando is still getting rain bands, with intermittent rain and wind. Nothing like Florida’s Big Bend area.