Hurricane Idalia made landfall early this morning as a strong category 3 hurricane in the Big Bend region of Florida, just south of Perry, FL.

Catastrophic winds, storm surge to 16 feet, flooding rains, and numerous tornadoes all part of a mixed bag of extreme weather inundating the northern part of the state today.

Latest observations from Cedar Key, FL shows water levels entering "major flooding" even as the initial surge was timed with low tide. With high tide approaching and onshore flow continuing these numbers are expected to rise.

As the storm moves inland it'll march toward Georgia and ultimately the South Carolina coast bringing damaging wind, several feet of storm surge to the Atlantic coastline, and inland flooding.

Here is the latest forecast from the NHC:

Here is the expected rainfall through the duration of the storm, with large swaths of 6"+ rainfall across interior Georgia, South and North Carolina through Thursday:

And finally, latest storm surge forecasts along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, with 2 - 5 feet of surge now expected along parts of the Atlantic coast against what's already a king tide for the region.

Idalia will eventually make its way into the Atlantic by the end of the week, but not before causing plenty of destruction in its wake.

Stay safe everyone.