>
Hurricane Idalia swept across Florida yesterday, battering the coast with torrential rain, pounding surf and screeching winds of up to 125 mph.
The powerful storm then swept through low-lying towns on the state’s west coast before weakening as it moved inland into the state of Georgia.
As this drama unfolded, the enormity and magnitude of what was heralded as an “unprecedented event” was captured from above by the International Space Station (ISS) in terrifying detail.
It shows Idalia’s all-encompassing size and reveals a fascinating view of the storm’s eye as the space station flew 260 miles above us.
NASA shared the footage on its YouTube channel, saying it was filmed just two hours after the hurricane hit Florida Gulf coast at 08:00 ET (13:00 BST) on Wednesdays.
Huge: The sheer size and magnitude of Hurricane Idalia, which slammed into Florida’s Gulf Coast early Wednesday, was captured from above by the International Space Station
The US Space Agency also streamed the moment live on NASA TV.
“External cameras on the International Space Station captured images of Hurricane Idalia at 10:35 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, August 30, 2023, as the station flew 260 miles above us,” the statement of the footage reads on YouTube.
“Idalia made landfall just before 8 a.m. near Keaton Beach, Florida, along the Big Bend region of the state as a Category 3 storm with winds of 125 miles per hour.”
NASA has previously said that Earth observation satellites like the ISS have a unique view of storms, and that this type of imagery will help scientists better understand hurricanes and aid preparedness and disaster response.
It has also shared similar views on powerful storms like Hurricane Ida in 2021 and Hurricane Michael in 2018, while astronauts often share photos on X (formerly known as Twitter).
For parts of Florida, Idalia is a once-in-a-lifetime storm that broke records as it swept through the state, but there is a sense that the storm could have caused far worse devastation.
It was labeled an “unprecedented event” by the National Hurricane Center and sparked rare extreme wind warnings.
While total damage is still being assessed, it is clear that Idalia was far less destructive and deadly than Hurricane Ian, which caused 150 deaths and $112 billion in damage when the hurricane hit Florida in September 2022.
That said, with maximum winds of 200 mph, Idalia was still the strongest to hit Florida’s Big Bend region in more than 125 years.
The storm surge was also a record from Tampa to Big Bend.
Considered the hurricane’s most dangerous threat, this surge is storm-driven seawater sped miles inland, flooding low-lying communities and roads in its path.
But Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said hours later that no deaths had been reported from the storm surge.
Terrifying: NASA shared the footage on its YouTube channel, saying it was filmed just two hours after the hurricane hit Florida’s Gulf Coast at 8 a.m. ET (1 p.m. BST) on Wednesday
Direction of travel: The powerful storm then swept through low-lying towns on the state’s west coast, before weakening as it moved inland into the state of Georgia
View from space: As this drama played out, the ‘unprecedented event’ was captured from above by the International Space Station in terrifying detail
NASA’s images show Idalia’s all-encompassing size, revealing a fascinating view of the storm’s eye as the space station flew 260 miles overhead
However, Florida Highway Patrol reported that two men were killed in car crashes caused by rainy conditions.
The cleanup operation is now underway, but more than 225,000 people were still without power in Florida as of Wednesday night.
Another 230,000 people in Georgia were left in the dark.
As predicted, the storm’s center of gravity was carried in the heart of Florida’s largely rural Big Bend region, where the state’s northern Gulf Coast curves toward the western side of Florida’s peninsula.
The area is roughly bounded by the cities of Gainesville and Tallahassee, the state capital.
The same region, with a marshy coast and fresh water springs and rivers, was devastated in 1896 by a major hurricane.
But Idalia’s dire consequences were not limited to Big Bend.
Idalia has proved to be a one-time storm for parts of Florida — breaking records as it swept through the state — but there’s a feeling it could have caused far worse devastation. Jewell Baggett, 51, sits on a bathtub amid the rubble of the house her grandfather built
Pictured is the wreckage of a gas station near Perry, Florida, after the arrival of Hurricane Idalia
As predicted, the storm’s center of gravity was carried into the heart of Florida’s largely rural Big Bend region, where the state’s northern Gulf Coast curves toward the western side of the Florida peninsula.
In Hillsborough County, an area of 1.5 million people south of Tampa, the crews suffered widespread damage and flooded streets, officials said in a briefing.
Idalia reached hurricane strength Tuesday, reaching Category 4 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson five-step wind scale early Wednesday before landfall, but had weakened to Category 3 by 7 a.m. ET (12 a.m. BST), according to the National Hurricane Center.
As it entered southeastern Georgia, winds from Idalia had dropped to 150 mph, dropping the storm to Category 1.
At 5pm ET (10pm BST), officials said it had further weakened to a tropical storm.
Idalia is expected to drift along the South Carolina coast for much of Thursday before curling eastward off North Carolina and into the Atlantic this evening.