WATCH: Tallahassee hunkers down as Hurricane Idalia brings wind, rain to area
A slight eastward jog may spare Tallahassee from a direct hit from Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall Wednesday morning near Keaton Beach and is currently working its way across Florida. But that doesn't mean residents aren't feeling the wind, the rain, the power outages and the damage.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 49 counties, a broad swath that stretches across the northern half of the state from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Coast as catastrophic storm surge is expected.
Here's what people are seeing. NOTE: If you are in the path of Idalia, please do not risk your life to get cool video. Stay safe.
100 year old oak tree falls on the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee — Mason, Madison, Mamie and I were home at the time, but thankfully no one was injured.
Our prayers are with everyone impacted by the storm. pic.twitter.com/l6MOE8wNMC— Casey DeSantis (@CaseyDeSantis) August 30, 2023
Pine limb down in the backyard. Crazy lucky Idalia hasn't been worse. #Tallahassee pic.twitter.com/7v5pLixyF9
— JenK 🐱 (@waycooljen) August 30, 2023
Idalia update: we are in Tallahassee and perhaps got the worst of it overnight. Just a lot of rain and wind. Still have power as of now pic.twitter.com/mCwatOl1xt
— Kaitlyn Hoover 👩🏼🎓 (@KaitlynHoover13) August 30, 2023
#TALLAHASSEE MAYOR ON #IDALIA
"Trees and power lines don't mix when it comes to the wind," @MayorOfTLH tells @jdbalart.
"We have tripled the size of our electric utility department specifically for the repairs to any damage we might sustain during this storm." pic.twitter.com/88tJT8iLpL— José Díaz-Balart Reports (@JDBalartMSNBC) August 30, 2023
11 am Update - Hurricane #Idalia is currently a Cat 1 Hurricane. Damaging wind gusts continue around the storm and heavy rains around the center are leading to several water rescues in south-central Georgia. Additionally, storm surge concerns remain across the Big Bend. #FLwx pic.twitter.com/NxCtZsKSTd
— NWS Tallahassee (@NWSTallahassee) August 30, 2023
As #Idalia moves out, damage and flooding will make it dangerous to be out in the heavily affected areas. Please give first responders room to work, and make sure they have the ability to provide aide to folks who really need it! #FLwx #ALwx #GAwx pic.twitter.com/CpHtc28m1m
— NWS Tallahassee (@NWSTallahassee) August 30, 2023
Seeing reports of damage around town, like this downed tree on Buck Lake (since cleared). Stay safe. Response crews are working as swiftly as safely possible. #IdaliaTLH #Idalia pic.twitter.com/KKfuaJCZqA
— City of Tallahassee (@CityofTLH) August 30, 2023
Hurricane Idalia was continuing to strengthen as it readies to make landfall along Florida's Big Bend on the Gulf Coast, not far from Tallahassee. https://t.co/NYJrbR1qLF
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) August 30, 2023
More than a quarter-million without power now, including most between Tallahassee and Gainesville. #Idalia pic.twitter.com/6O3TfAfidU
— Florida Tropics (@FloridaTropics1) August 30, 2023
#idalia #tallahassee the Storm not even tropical storm strength at its peak in Tallahassee pic.twitter.com/mtDP8O7qZA
— Hank Wms (@hank_wms_1) August 30, 2023
Idalia update. The eye of hurricane Idalia is now moving into south Georgia & is near Vidalia, Ga. Here in Tallahassee, we are still getting the winds & rain from the backside of Idalia. A tree came down in our next door neighbor's yard, but all is well. We still have power.
— Nancy D - We are ruled by psychopaths ☮️🕊️ (@gulfgal98) August 30, 2023
View from mom’s house in Tallahassee FL. Family staying with her. ❤️ Power out. Gusts up to 60 mph. #IDALIA pic.twitter.com/N4yX797iWw
— Dan Shaffer (@danWAAY31) August 30, 2023
Crews are actively restoring service to electric customers around town who were impacted by #Idalia. Since midnight, 12,000 customers have had service restored. #IdaliaTLH pic.twitter.com/k9g6sI748Q
— City of Tallahassee (@CityofTLH) August 30, 2023
River gauge in Steinhatchee rapidly increased this morning as storm surge moved in with the river gauge increasing from 1 ft to 8 ft in only 1 hour. Last observation was at 830am ET. When we say the storm surge threat would increase rapidly, this is what we meant. #Idalia #FLwx pic.twitter.com/5PfMAhbiie
— NWS Tallahassee (@NWSTallahassee) August 30, 2023
Doak Campbell Stadium with sustained tropical storm force winds #Tallahassee #Idalia pic.twitter.com/KrFCjkufjg
— Robert Szot (@szotwx) August 30, 2023
A glimmer of good news for Tallahassee from the EOC:
Leon County Emergency Management says because the storm track has shifted more east, the impact will be less severe on the capital city and county.@TDOnline https://t.co/dnFdvexnWi— Ana Goñi-Lessan (@goni_lessan) August 30, 2023
From David Peters in Tallahassee “Sheets of rain as larger bands have moved through. Sustained winds 20-30 throughout the morning, gusts to 50 or so as Idalia has passed about 50 miles east of Tallahassee.
Fortunate for us here that the storm finally made a slight eastward… pic.twitter.com/5HYMB3Xwtl— James Spann (@spann) August 30, 2023
WATCH: Power flickers in and out at Gov. Ron DeSantis' Tallahassee emergency #Idalia briefing this morning
"There we go with our power here... we're back." pic.twitter.com/IENimjdeCi— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) August 30, 2023
UPDATE: shelters are still open in Leon County. Plenty of room available.
All are pet-friendly.@TDOnline https://t.co/dnFdvexnWi— Ana Goñi-Lessan (@goni_lessan) August 30, 2023
Hurricane #Idalia will likely be an unprecedented event for many locations in the Florida Big Bend. Looking back through recorded history, NO major hurricanes have ever moved through the Apalachee Bay. When you try to compare this storm to others, DON'T. No one has seen this. pic.twitter.com/m9X8dcarc5
— NWS Tallahassee (@NWSTallahassee) August 29, 2023
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Hurricane Idalia: Tallahassee sees rain, wind, as storm passes
