Idalia churns toward Georgia as Category 1 hurricane, after landfall in Florida, at least 2 dead

Hurricane Idalia on Wednesday afternoon churned north toward Georgia after making landfall as a Category 3 storm on Florida's west coast, reportedly having killed at least two people, knocking out power to roughly 300 customers and creating widespread flooding with its storm surges.  

The storm, which was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane by midday, made landfall at about 7:55 a.m. ET on Florida's west coast, near the city of Crystal River, north of Tampa and south of Gainesville.

The storm landed with winds of 125 mph, making it the strongest to hit the state's Big Bend region in over a century.

Idalia was still producing sustained winds as high as 95 mph by the afternoon. 

The storm brought record-breaking storm surges – including 8 feet in Cedar Key. And in Tampa Bay, water levels were at least 4.5 feet – exceeding the previous high water mark of 3.79 feet from Tropical Storm Eta in 2020, according to CNN. 

At about noon Wednesday, damaging winds started spreading into southern Georgia as the storm moves northeast. The Valdosta, Ga., airport is reporting sustained wind speeds of 39 mph as larger gusts batter the area.