Post-tropical storm Idalia tracker: track, winds and power outages
Idalia was a post-tropical cyclone in the Sargasso Sea Saturday afternoon ET, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Wind speeds after the tropical cyclone reached 60 mph. Follow our coverage here.
As the storm moved inland, heavy rain fell along and near the storm’s path, from Florida to North Carolina. Some areas received more than 10 inches of rain.
Damaging winds from Idalia caused power outages along the storm’s path.
Idalia is the ninth storm to form in the Atlantic Ocean in 2023.
In late May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that there would be between 12 and 17 named storms this year, an “almost normal” amount. On August 10, NOAA officials revised their estimates upward, to 14 to 21 storms.
There were 14 named storms last year, after two very busy hurricane seasons in the Atlantic, when forecasters ran out of names and had to resort to standby lists. (30 named storms formed in 2020.)
This year is characterized by an El Niño pattern that arrived in June. The intermittent climate phenomenon can have widespread impacts on weather around the world, and typically hinders the formation of Atlantic hurricanes.
In the Atlantic Ocean, the El Niño phenomenon increases the amount of wind shear, or the change in wind speed and direction from the ocean or land surface to the atmosphere. Hurricanes need a calm environment to form, and instability caused by increased wind shear makes these conditions less likely. (The El Niño phenomenon has the opposite effect in the Pacific region, reducing the amount of wind shear.)
Meanwhile, rising sea surface temperatures this year pose a number of threats, including the potential for increased storm power.
Sources and notes
Tracking map Source: National Hurricane Center Notes: The map shows probabilities of at least five percent. The forecast includes the five days beginning three hours before the last reported time and location of the storm.
Arrivals schedule Sources: New York Times analysis of National Hurricane Center data (arrival times); U.S. Census Bureau and Natural Lands (geographical locations); Google (time zones) | Notes: The table shows the expected times for tropical storm force winds to reach selected cities if there is a chance that these winds will reach those locations. “As soon as possible” times are times when, in the event of tropical storm force winds arriving, there is at least a 10 percent chance they will arrive at the time shown. “Most likely” times are times when, in the event of tropical storm force winds arriving, there is an equal chance of such winds arriving before and after the time shown.
