Idalia remains a tropical storm and will move off the Carolina coast
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Hurricane Idalia devastated the Tampa Bay area Tuesday night through Wednesday morning before making landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in the Big Bend area of Florida.
Idalia brought a storm surge to the Tampa Bay area when tides were already higher than normal due to a supermoon.
Residents in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties who were ordered to evacuate were allowed to return home Wednesday night.
Residents in Citrus County’s Evacuation Zone A are subject to a mandatory curfew between 10 p.m. Wednesday and 6 a.m. Thursday.
Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. It then swept across Georgia as a hurricane.
Eventually, Idalia strengthened into a Category 4 storm, but weakened slightly to Category 3 before making landfall.
Idalia weakened again to a tropical storm on Wednesday evening. At 11 p.m., Idalia was about 15 miles north-northwest of Charleston, South Carolina.
Idalia is expected to remain a tropical storm as it moves off the coast of South Carolina Wednesday night or Thursday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm will then move out to sea.
