Hurricane Idalia tore into Florida at the speed of a fast-moving train Wednesday, splitting trees in half, ripping roofs off hotels, and turning small cars into boats before sweeping into Georgia as a still-powerful storm that flooded roadways and sent residents running for higher ground. Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach at 7:45am as a high-end Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 125 mph. It had weakened to a tropical storm with winds of 70 mph by Wednesday afternoon, the AP reports.
- As the eye moved inland, high winds shredded signs, blew off roofs, sent sheet metal flying, and snapped tall trees. But as of midday Wednesday, there were no confirmed deaths in Florida, although fatal traffic accidents in two counties may end up being storm-related, Gov. Ron DeSantis said.
- The sheriff in the county where Hurricane Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 storm says no deaths or serious injuries have been reported so far. But Taylor County Sheriff Wayne Padgett said that could change once the small towns along the beach are searched.