Hurricane (Typhoon) — Hamilton, Florida
2023-08-30 · Hamilton, Florida
Event narrative
Hamilton County was heavily impacted by Hurricane Idalia in the morning and early afternoon as the eyewall
crossed the western tier of the county. Extensive countywide wind damage occurred. NWS Storm Survey
results estimated peak winds of 80-90 mph with gusts near 100 mph just north of the Suwannee River State
Park in the SW portion of the county where hardwood trees were damaged along SW County Road 143 .
Outbuildings, barns and trees were damaged along State Road 6 West from County Road 141 to I-75. There
was total destruction of buildings along State Road 6 including that of a MBS building that had the concrete
anchors pulled out of the ground suggesting an estimated wind gust of 110 to 115 mph at this location
between NW Poe Trail and SWS County Road 751. A tree fell on a home along 48th Avenue about 2 miles
WNW of West Lake and injured one person inside. Near where the Alapaha and Suwannee Rivers meet in
SW Hamilton county, winds of 70-80 mph with gusts near 100 mph were assessed where quail houses with
about 20,000 quail in each were destroyed.
At 0750 on 8/30, a mesonet station in Suwannee Springs measured a wind gust of 40 mph. At 0830, a
mesonet site 3 miles SSE of Jasper measured a wind gust of 48 mph. At 0850, a mesonet site in Hamilton
Crossroads (SW portions of the county) measured a wind gust of 42 mph. At 0910, the same mesonet site
had a gust of 50 mph, then at 0920 a gust of 53 mph. At 0930, the mesonet site in Suwannee Springs (6 NE)
measured a wind gust of 50 mph. At 0950, the Hamilton Crossroads mesonet site measured a wind gust of
79 mph (this was the highest recorded gust in the county for the event). At 0952, the county emergency
management (EM) team reported a tree was blown down onto a home and trapped residents inside at 303
Bristol Avenue SW in Jasper. At the same time, the EM reported at least one home in Jasper had the roof
blow off. At 1020, a mesonet site 5 miles SW of Belmont had a wind gust of 57 mph. At 1100, the Hamilton
County EM office measured a wind gust of 53 mph. At 1240, a mesonet site at the Boys Ranch measured a
wind gust of 40 mph.
Wider weather episode
Hurricane Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning August 30th around 745 AM EDT along the
Florida Big Bend near Keaton Beach as a category 3, with the inner core moving NE across the
Suwannee River Valley. The inner wind core of Idalia gradually weakened through the morning while,
heavily impacting Suwannee and Hamilton counties in NE Florida and Echols county SE Georgia as the
circulation tracked NE. Widespread tree, power line and structure damage occurred across Suwannee and Hamilton counties, with estimated winds of 80-100 mph based on damage surveys with isolated pockets of peak wind gusts near major hurricane strength. Outer rainbands on the eastside of Idalia
impacted all of SE Georgia and NE FL through the day, with early morning tornadoes across coastal SE Georgia and widespread tropical cyclone wind gusts through the day causing tree damage and powerline damage at least somewhere across NE Florida and SE Georgia. Measured gusts during the peak of the hurricane across the local forecast area were 60-80 mph. Flooding rainfall impacted locations in the direct path of the weakening inner core across the Suwannee River Valley and southeast Georgia,
especially from eastern Hamilton county toward Baxley and Jesup GA. The peak rainfall amounts were up to 5-8 inches. At least 3 tornadoes occurred in southeast GA as rainbands swept northwestward ahead of the hurricane.
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1126933. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.