South-Carolina
Tropical Storm Idalia Reaches South Carolina After Barreling Through Florida And Georgia
Topline
At least two people have died as a result of dangerous conditions from Idalia, which made landfall Wednesday morning on Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 3 major hurricane, though the storm was downgraded to a tropical storm before it plowed through Georgia and reached South Carolina this evening.
Palm trees at Clearwater Harbor after Hurricane Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
Idalia was downgraded to a tropical storm Wednesday afternoon before reaching South Carolina with sustained winds of 65 mph as of 8 p.m., according to the National Hurricane Center.
A 40-year-old man in Florida, whose name has not been publicly identified, died in Pasco County—north of Tampa—early Wednesday morning, after losing control of his vehicle while driving in the hurricane, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers said a 59-year-old man from Gainesville, Florida, was also killed on Wednesday after veering into a ditch and hitting a tree while driving, local ABC affiliate WCJR reported.
Mike Carballa, the administrator of Pasco County, Florida (north of Tampa) told CNN on Wednesday that between 4,000 and 6,000 homes were damaged with up to five feet of floodwater that inundated the area on Wednesday, while in Manatee County—south of St. Petersburg—officials estimate damage is upwards of $2 million.
At least 16 buildings were damaged and 46 roads blocked in Leon County, Florida—which includes Tallahassee—the Tallahasee Democrat reported.
Videos and photos of the storm show widespread flooding and coastal damage from the storm, which inundated the runways at Tampa International Airport, caused roof damage in Perry, Florida, flooded a major highway and downed trees and ripped homes and storefronts apart along the Gulf Coast.
In a strange phenomenon, intense storm surge from Idalia reversed Florida’s Steinhatchee River, tearing sailboats from their moorings and driving them upriver, where their masts were snapped as they collided with a bridge.
Idalia has also wreaked havoc on storefronts and mobile homes, and in Valdosta, Georgia, caused an electrical transformer to explode, as the storm crossed into Georgia as a Category 1 storm.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis—who is married to Gov. Ron DeSantis—said the storm toppled a 100-year-old oak tree onto the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee, adding nobody was hurt in the incident.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) urged residents in coastal areas to prepare emergency kits and heed warnings about the storm.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, pleaded with residents not to loot in the aftermath of the storm, warning in a press conference that “people have a right to defend their property” and adding that in “this part of Florida, you’ve got a lot of advocates and some proponents of the 2nd Amendment.”
What To Watch Fort
The NWS said “nearly half of hurricane fatalities occur after the storm” in a post on X Wednesday evening, urging those affected to be aware of post-hurricane hazards like downed power lines and to only return home from an evacuation when directed to.
Big Number
More than 425,000. That’s how many homes and businesses in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina lacked power as of 8 p.m. on Wednesday, according to outage tracker poweroutage.us. That includes about 190,000 in Florida—down from over 250,000 earlier Wednesday—as well as 203,000 in Georgia and 35,000 in South Carolina.
Contra
DeSantis said in a press conference ahead of Idalia’s landfall that more than 100,000 households that had lacked power had since been restored Wednesday morning. Roughly 25,000 workers and first responders had been mobilized in the state in preparation for the hurricane, the Tallahassee Democrat reported on Tuesday.
Key Background
Residents in more than two dozen counties along the Florida Gulf Coast were issued mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders on Tuesday, as Idalia barreled toward the Sunshine State after making initial landfall in Cuba. Idalia was a stunning reminder of Hurricane Ian just 11 months ago, which took a remarkably similar path over the Gulf of Mexico, making landfall south of Tampa as a Category 4 hurricane and wreaking havoc along Florida’s shoreline, becoming Florida’s deadliest storm in nearly 90 years. Like Ian, Idalia strengthened as it approached the Florida Gulf Coast, making landfall in the state’s Big Bend Region, southeast of Tallahassee, carrying maximum sustained winds of 125 mph and bringing “catastrophic impacts,” including storm surge up to 16 feet and “life-threatening winds,” according to the National Hurricane Center.
Further Reading
Hurricane Idalia Strengthens To Category 2: Here Are The Evacuation Orders And Closures In Effect As Storm Nears Florida Landfall (Forbes)
Hurricane Idalia Makes Landfall In Florida’s Big Bend As Category 3 Storm (Forbes)
SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) – The South Carolina Highway Patrol reports a multi-vehicle crash on I-85 killed three people on Sunday.
SCHP said a 2015 Honda Sedan was traveling the wrong way on I-85 North around 12:15 a.m. when it hit a 2019 Toyota Sedan head-on near mile marker 75.
The Honda driver and the two occupants of the Toyota all died at the scene, according to troopers.
The Honda also hit a 2024 Ford Expedition, but its driver and five passengers were not injured, troopers said.
The victims of the crash have not yet been identified.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol and the Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office are continuing their investigation.
Copyright 2025 WHNS. All rights reserved.
The South Carolina Gamecocks currently hold the best transfer portal class in college baseball.
The South Carolina Gamecocks had a disapointing season on the baseball diamond this year after finishing second to last in the conference. That has led to a litany of players entering the transfer portal, so something need to go South Carolina’s way to start building momentum. They have finally found some.
With the transfer portal open, Paul Mainieri and his staff have been making moves of their own. They currently have six players committed with 17 total players leaving the roster. Those six players committed though have the Gamecocks sitting at the top of the transfer portal class rankings.
Four of the transfers committed to South Carolina are top 250 players. That’s more than any other program in the top 10. That’s significant considering two of the players that have left the roster were also top 250 players.
The transfer portal has become a pivotal portion of college sports, but baseball especially. Georgia’s head coach Wes Johnson has utilized it to get the program into postseason play in the first two years he was there. Tennessee’s Tony Vitello signed Andrew Fischer and Liam Doyle out of the portal and they have arguably been the best two players on the team.
If Mainieri and his staff can continue to crush the portal like they have so far, they will be in good shape heading into the 2026 college baseball season. The portal will remain open until July 1st.
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South Carolina picks up another commitment out of the transfer portal this week as right hander Elijah Foster announces his decision to come to Columbia on Instagram.
Foster spent the last two seasons in Fairfield, Connecticut, playing for the Pioneers. The 6-foot and 190 pound sophomore out of Plainfield, New Jersey, was 5-3 in 15 starts on the mound in 2025. Foster had a 5.23 ERA in 72.1 innings pitched, with 76 strikeouts, and 42 runs given up.
South Carolina is no stranger to Foster’s game on the mound. The Gamecocks and Pioneers matched up for the opening series in 2025, where Foster was the game two starter for Sacred Heart. He would go on to have a rough outing in his first start of 2025. The Pioneers would make a pitching change after the third inning of Foster’s start. He would finish giving up six earned runs (nine in total), three strikeouts, and six walks.
The Gamecocks are retooling a roster that has lost 15 players in the transfer portal since it opened on June 2. Foster joins fellow pitchers Josh Gregoire, Cullen Horowicz, and Amp Phillips as additions to the pitching staff this portal cycle.
Join the community:
You can follow us for future coverage by clicking “Follow” on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to follow us on X at @GamecocksDigest and on Facebook!
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