Tropical Storm — Southern Brevard Barrier Islands, Florida

2023-08-30 · Southern Brevard Barrier Islands, Florida

Event narrative

Hurricane Idalia's landfall along the Big Bend region led to widespread tropical storm force wind gusts through the day. The peak wind gust at the Space Coast Regional Airport was 33 knots. The Weatherflow site in the Banana River at 520 measured a 47 knot wind gust, as did Trident Pier, and the site at the Cocoa Beach Club measured a 43 knot wind gust. No damage was reported. One direct fatality occurred when a 60 year old man was windsurfing and drowned near Kelly Park in Merritt Island.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region as a major Category 3 hurricane. It then moved northeastward, moving into southern Georgia, before pushing into the Atlantic off of the southeast US coast. The storm brought widespread tropical storm-force gusts to east central Florida and the adjacent waters, especially from Brevard and Osceola Counties northward. Rainfall was minimal, with the highest amount of 3.67 inches reported in Seminole County. Totals were around 3 inches from the Orlando metro northward. There were no reported tornadoes and the angle to the coast limited coastal erosion. There was one direct fatality.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1119067. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.