Hurricane Idalia has reached northern Florida and continues to batter the state with torrential rain and howling winds, despite dropping from a Category 4 to a Category 2 storm.
Idalia made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region around 7:45 a.m. local time on Wednesday (Aug. 30), according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). The storm first hit the west of Cuba on Monday and Tuesday (Aug. 28 and 29), where it destroyed homes and flooded villages on the island. It then intensified over the Gulf of Mexico and traveled north with sustained winds of 130 mph (210 km/h) and gusts up to 160 mph (260 km/h), before weakening to a Category 3 storm as it reached the Florida coast. At least two people have died in crashes, the Washington Post reported.
