Hurricane Idalia has made landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast, where it is bringing catastrophic, life-threatening storm surge, destructive winds and flooding rain.

The center of Idalia came ashore near Keaton Beach at 7:45 a.m. EDT with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, making it a strong Category 3. This preliminarily ties as the strongest hurricane landfall on record in Florida's Big Bend region. Idalia will now move quickly inland which will bring significant wind and flooding concerns, as well as the threat of tornadoes, into parts of Georgia, as well as South and North Carolina.  As a result, hurricane warnings have been posted for portions of the Atlantic Coast.

The hurricane briefly hit Category 4 intensity this morning, but the start of an eyewall replacement cycle reduced maximum sustained winds slightly when the storm made landfall. This does not reduce the severity of the hurricane's impacts.

Bands of rain containing strong winds continue to swing into much of Florida, and parts of South Georgia the highest wind gusts observed so far include 83 mph at Keaton Beach, 81 mph at Horseshoe Point, 70 mph at Sarasota and 58 mph in Tampa and St. Petersburg. An extreme wind warning has been issued for a part Florida's Big Bend region until 9:15 a.m. EDT. This rare type of warning indicates the eyewall of a hurricane is coming ashore and is typically reserved for wind speeds of at least 115 mph.

National Hurricane Center issued this strong wording in its forecast discussion Wednesday morning, "Catastrophic impacts from storm surge inundation of 12 to 16 feet above ground level and destructive waves are expected somewhere between Wakulla-Jefferson County line and Yankeetown, Florida."

The National Weather Service in Tallahassee noted in their Tuesday morning discussion, "Widespread deep inundation with storm surge flooding will be greatly accentuated by powerful battering waves. Locations may be uninhabitable for an extended period of time. Near-shore escape routes and secondary roads may be washed out or severely flooded."

A storm surge warning is in effect for Englewood to Indian Pass, including Tampa Bay. This means there is a danger of life-threatening inundation from rising water moving inland from the shoreline within the specified area.

We recognize the severe impact that current conditions are having on our customers, and we are committed to restoring service levels as quickly as possible. As a result of these weather issues, the ALG Client Service Team will send daily updates as we monitor the progress and track job level impact.