WASHINGTON − As Hurricane Idalia barreled into Florida's gulf coastline Wednesday morning as a Category 3 tropical cyclone, Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Joe Biden faced new tests to demonstrate leadership during the historic storm and again prove they can work together despite their rivalry. DeSantis left the Republican primary campaign trail in Iowa to return to Tallahassee over the weekend. The governor set out to show he can lead the state through a crisis while in the running for the White House − even as he lags far behind...

Speaking from Perry, Florida Wednesday afternoon in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia, Republican presidential candidate and Governor Ron DeSantis warned criminals against looting and promised consequences for doing so. "We are not gonna tolerate any looting in the aftermath," DeSantis said, noting that signs in yards that say "You loot, we shoot" should be taken seriously. "People have a right to defend their property." "In this part of Florida, you've got a lot of advocates and proponents of the Second Amendment," he continued. Back in Tallahassee, First Lady Casey DeSantis...

According to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, base officials captured the lightning-like display as members of the 50th Air Refueling Squadron conducted an evacuation in preparation for Idalia. All aircraft on the installation have been evacuated/secured in preparation for #HurricaneIdalia . During the evacuation, the 50th ARS recorded St. Elmo’s fire, a weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created in an atmospheric electric field. pic.twitter.com/tqUGhfm8iN — MacDill AFB (@MacDill_AFB) August 29, 2023 According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, St.

NASA released footage of Hurricane Idalia captured from the International Space Station (ISS) as the storm struck Florida on Wednesday. NASA live-streamed footage of the storm on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, as the ISS flew over the massive storm. Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning as a Category 3 hurricane, triggering a massive response from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration. By 11 a.m. ET Wednesday, the storm was a Category 1, with sustained winds of 90 mph, and its impact was being felt in Georgia, according to the...

At least two people have died as a result of dangerous conditions from Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall Wednesday morning on Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 3 major hurricane, pummeling the Sunshine State with widespread flooding, “life-threatening” storm surges and hurricane-force winds, though the storm has since been downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane as it enters Georgia.

Idalia made landfall just before 8 a.m. near Keaton Beach, Florida.

Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region on Wednesday morning as an "extremely dangerous" Category 3 storm, the National Weather Service said.

Idalia is the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the Big Bend region since 1896.

The storm, now a Category 1 hurricane, will move into Georgia and the Carolinas later Wednesday and early Thursday.

This year’s first major hurricane made landfall early Wednesday morning, bringing 125-mile-per-hour winds to Florida’s Big Bend region. Officials and residents told Grist that the sparsely populated coastal area, which stretches from near Gainesville to just south of Tallahassee, was wholly unprepared for Hurricane Idalia, a category 3 storm fueled by exceptionally hot waters in the Gulf of Mexico. The area hasn’t been struck directly by a hurricane in more than a century. “We’ve never seen anything like this,” said Mandy Lemmermen, the battalion chief for the Dixie County fire...

Officials in Florida confirmed at least two people had died as a result of dangerous conditions from Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall Wednesday morning on Florida’s Gulf Coast as the Category 3 major hurricane, pummeling the Sunshine state with widespread flooding, “life threatening” storm surge and hurricane-force winds, with nearly 250,000 Florida homes and businesses without power.

Today A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Sunny, with a high near 81. West southwest wind 9 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 51. West wind 8 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 16 mph. Thursday Sunny, with a high near 81. West southwest wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Thursday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 53. West wind 6 to 9 mph, with gusts...

Hurricane Idalia made landfall over Florida this morning as a high-end Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds over 100 miles per hour. The strong winds and flooding have cut off power for more than 260,000 businesses and households, according to data from PowerOutage.us. The largest outages are in the Florida bend on the Gulf Coast . It jumped from earlier this morning when there were about 160,000 outages reported on the map. An alert from the National Hurricane Center warned that residents in the affected areas can expect “long-duration...