Hurricane Idalia has been downgraded to a tropical storm as it nears South Carolina having crossed both Florida and Georgia, the National Hurricane Center reports.
The system made landfall at 7.45am on Wednesday hitting the Big Bend region of Florida as an “extremely dangerous Category 3” storm. It brought maximum sustained winds of 125 mph and a catastrophic 15ft storm surge.
As of Wednesday evening, a tropical storm warning was still in effect for Georgia, and the National Weather Service warned that Idalia could bring “life-threatening” storm surge to coastal areas in the Carolinas.
The storm killed at least three people, two who died in auto accidents in Florida and a third man who perished attempting to dismantle a downed tree in Georgia.
Idalia could possibly hit the state of Florida twice in the coming week via a dramatic turn over the North Atlantic.