CALMING DOWN

Devastating Idalia Downgraded to Tropical Storm as It Drenches Georgia

The once-powerful hurricane was quickly weakened after making landfall in North Florida, but the storm still poses a flooding threat to southern Georgia and South Carolina.

The devastating tropical system that was once Hurricane Idalia was downgraded to a tropical storm at 5 p.m. Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center announced. The downgrade came approximately 10 hours after Idalia slammed into Florida’s Big Bend region as a category 3 hurricane with sustained winds in excess of 111 mph. The storm weakened almost immediately after landfall, but maintained hurricane-strength winds for much of Wednesday as it traversed north into Georgia—ripping roofs off homes and inundating coastal cities along the way. Despite Idalia’s strength downgrade, federal forecasters warned that the system could still increase flood and tornado chances in southern Georgia and South Carolina. The infamously-flood prone city of Charleston is particularly at risk because of a phenomena known as King Tide—where coastal high tides are significantly increased due to a new or full moon—is expected to occur Wednesday just as Idalia passes near the city.