Hurricane Idalia was a powerful hurricane and the first major hurricane to hit the United States during the Atlantic hurricane season of 2023. The storm first formed during the period from August 24 to 26, owing from a monsoon trough over Central America. Once developed, a tropical depression, then a tropical storm, meandered and intensified between the Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba from August 27 and 29, moving northward later in the period into the southeastern Gulf Of Mexico. Lessening vertical wind shear and very warm waters favored rapid intensification once a storm core developed (eyewall), especially on August 29 where it reached hurricane strength. The storm continued northward, still rapidly intensifying, until it neared landfall in the Florida "Big-Bend" area, and briefly reached category 4 strength early on August 30. The storm had a very large gale (tropical storm) forced wind envelope, extending out at least 150 miles from the center, with a smaller core of hurricane forced winds extending out only 25 miles. The storm briefly became a category 4 storm, with 130 MPH winds and a central pressure of 940 MB, before weakening slightly to 125 MPH (due to the start of an eyewall replacement cycle), where it made landfall near Keaton Beach, in Taylor County, Florida. The storm continued to the NNE, passing over or near the town of Perry, Florida and near Athena. Once over land, the storm encountered drag and was cut off from the warm Gulf waters, and began weakening rapidly under increasing vertical shear as it continued to the Georgia border by mid-day on August 30. The storm weakened to a tropical storm, and re-emerged into the Atlantic Ocean on August 31 near South Carolina. By this point the storm structure was sheared apart by hostile atmospheric conditions (vertical shear and dry air), and the storm became extra-tropical well southeast and east of the Carolinas. The post-tropical low of Idalia passed near Bermuda on September 2, finally becoming absorbed in a low pressure trough there after. This storm caused major wind damage, and storm surge over a large area in the Florida "Big-Bend" area. At least 6 people were killed and damage was up to 5 billion dollars.

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HURRICANE IDALIA - TROUBLE IN THE FLORIDA BIG-BEND

Hurricane Idalia was a major hurricane, coming ashore near Keaton, Beach, Florida early on August 30, 2023. After that it accelerated north and northeast, passing by Perry, Florida after sunrise. In the picture above, the backside of Hurricane Idalia lashes Taylor County with winds gusting over 100 MPH, shredding a gas station canopy in near white-out (violent, horizontal rain) conditions.

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Hurricane Idalia In Florida In August 2023

HURRICANE IDALIA - NHC WIND SWATH AND FLORIDA CHASE LOCATION

Above is the chase map and storm path details, including my chase for this storm. The main part of the map shows the storm intensity path (triangles indicating the formative and post-tropical stages, and the circles a named storm such as tropical storm or hurricane). This is off the Wiki Commons / NHC sites. The "warmer" colors indicate storm intensity, and the landfall is orange denoting category 3 (or 4 status while offshore) near Taylor County in the Florida "Big-Bend" / Nature Coast area early on August 30. The wind (tropical storm / gale and hurricane) envelopes, courtesy of the National Hurricane Center "wind history" product, are overlaid in orange and red (respectively). The annotations show important features of the evolution of hurricane Idalia, as well as key points and driving paths (blue) of the storm chase. The lower-right inset shows the path of the core and eye of hurricane Idalia, depicted in yellow, as it made landfall near Keaton Beach, and moved NNE over Athena and southeast Perry, and continued on to cause wind damage in Live Oak, Florida during the morning of August 30. The blue path is the driving paths as I was hurricane chasing. Storm surge stretched well south of where the core of Idalia made landfall, causing extensive coastal flooding in addition to the strong winds.

HURRICANE IDALIA - VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGE

Composite (enhanced Geo / IR) satellite image of Hurricane Idalia approaching maximum intensity in the Gulf of Mexico during the morning of August 30, 2023. Hurricane Idalia would briefly reach 130 MPH (category 4) offshore of Keaton Beach (south of Perry, Florida) before making landfall around dawn that same day.

HURRICANE IDALIA - RADAR IMAGE

Interesting radar images of hurricane Idalia nearing maximum intensity, and before making landfall in the Florida "big bend" / nature coast area early on August 30, 2023. To the left is the base reflectivity radar product. To the right, taken a couple of hours later, is the (Doppler) velocity product. Note that an eyewall replacement cycle is beginning, with an outer eyewall forming around the violent inner (smaller) eye, with a dry air "moat" entraining into the core flow-field of the hurricane. The Doppler velocity to the right indicates surface winds near 130 MPH.

HURRICANE IDALIA CHASE PICTURES

Gas stations often run out of gas when a hurricane threatens. Luckily we carry extra fuel containers when we go hurricane chasing.
Storm chasers and news crews at a Hampton Inn in Perry, Florida waiting for hurricane Idalia to arrive. This was before Dawn on August 30, 2023.
Tim Marshall ("tornado Tim") at a parking lot in Perry, Florida before sunrise. Many storm chasers were chasing this hurricane.
Positioning south of Perry, Florida near Athena to ride out the front eyewall of hurricane Idalia. The outer eyewall is about to pass over me as the sun comes up.
Front eyewall reaches Athena, Florida after day break. Winds briefly gusted over 100 MPH in this area, but rain was rather light.
View of brightening sky looking south near Athena, Florida as winds gust over 100 MPH. The eye is coming fast. The vehicles in this view are all storm chasers.
Radar image (base reflectivity) and my position (blue circle) just entering the small inner-eye (a "pinhole" eye, less than 8 miles wide) of hurricane Idalia near Perry, Florida.
Brief wide-angle view of the inside of hurricane Idalia's eye at about 8:30 AM EDT just east of Perry, Florida. Note the brief view of hazy blue sky (just left of center of picture and a bit right)! This eye was very small, less than 8 miles wide, and with the storm moving NNE at nearly 20 MPH, it left little time to enjoy the calm conditions.
Barometric pressure bottomed out in the eye between Athena and Perry at 943.1 MB. For you aviation buffs, note that almost 2,000 feet of the lower atmosphere is "missing"!
Brief view of the eyewall (and stadium effect) across the lower portion of this picture, from left to right. The eye was clouded over with high clouds, with hazy blue sky visible at times.
The calm of the small eye was short lived as the backside of the hurricane approaches and the bright skies give way quickly to rain and winds from the opposite direction. The rear eye-wall can be seen approaching from left to right in this view (to the west).
Winds begin to pick up, from the northwest (opposed to southeast) as the backside of hurricane Idalia slams Perry. Here a gas station canopy begins to peel just before the main eyewall returns.
Ferocious winds of the backside eyewall of Idalia fell trees in Perry, Florida. The conditions on the backside of the hurricane were much wetter than the front side of the eyewall.
Storm chaser (I think this is Tim Marshall) negotiating downed trees as the rear eyewall of hurricane Idalia affects Perry.
Some downed trees blocking the roadway towards Steinhatchee, Florida. The winds here remained tropical storm forced, with most of the core of hurricane Idalia passing just offshore of the area. Storm surge, however, had far-reaching effects south of the storm.
Extreme flooding in Steinhatchee, Florida on the backside of hurricane Idalia as water from the Gulf of Mexico pushes inland. This is a street covered by the storm surge.
Another street and homes flooded by the surge in Steinhatchee, Florida. Note the pulpit of a yacht to the upper left poking through the trees, as well as the mailboxes submerged.
Utility vehicles headed towards the areas impacted after the storm.
Most toll roads from Orlando, Florida and northwestwards were suspended, so no tolls were being charged.

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