Power outages, flooding spread as ‘catastrophic’ Hurricane Idalia makes Florida landfall

After intensifying overnight, Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend early Wednesday morning as a Category 3 hurricane, packing powerful winds and pushing a wall of destructive water into coastal communities. In a 7:45 a.m. update, the National Hurricane Service reported Idalia’s small but fierce eye came ashore near Keaton Beach, about 20 miles north of Steinhatchee in Taylor County. It was packing 125 mph sustained winds and headed northeast fast at 18 mph, but the real danger it brings is storm surge. As the sun rose Wednesday morning,…