www.nbcnews.com
Florida begins to assess damage after Hurricane Idalia: Live updates
Live updates and the latest news on Tropical Storm Idalia and hurricane damage. Get real-time weather updates and developments.
Local
Idalia is expected to move offshore today, but it is likely to remain a tropical storm as it does so, the National Hurricane Center said.
Around 300,000 customers were without power in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina early this morning.
Idalia could drop up to 8 inches of rain in the Carolinas, and forecasters warn that flash, urban and moderate river flooding is possible.
The storm made landfall in Florida's Big Bend just before 8 a.m. ET yesterday as a Category 3 hurricane after having strengthened to Category 4.
Satellite images captured the flooding in Florida's Big Bend.
Some residents who rode out Hurricane Idalia at home in Florida had to "swim out of their windows."
Flooding and heavy rainfall continue to cause life-threatening conditions in parts of eastern North Carolina, the National Hurricane Center has warned.
"A Storm Surge Watch means there is a possibility of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline in the indicated locations," the NHC said in a 5 a.m. ET update.
A tropical storm warning is in effect, covering from the South Santee River to the Virginia border as well as Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, and a storm surge warning covers coastal communities including Beaufort Inlet and Ocracoke Inlet.
The storm is expected to move east beyond the North Carolina coast at some point today — but tropical storm winds at its center could still reach 185mph. Tornadoes are also possible in the area, the NHC said.