Just after sunrise on August 30th 2023, Hurricane Idalia became the first major hurricane on record to hit near Keaton Beach, in Florida’s Big Bend. Idalia brought a devastating storm surge of 8-12 feet to the coastline in Levy, Dixie and Taylor counties. Foundations flooded, and roofs toppled in Idalia’s wake.

According to the National Weather Service Idalia’s storm surge inundations from Keaton Beach to Steinhatchee, Florida were among the highest levels recorded since the 1993 Storm of the Century.

Less than 15 miles from where Idalia made landfall, Debby would strike in nearly the exact same region one year later. Recovery efforts are ongoing in Florida’s Big Bend that has left the Nature Coast battered and bruised from the last several hurricane seasons.

Digital meteorologist Leslie Hudson takes a look back and Idalia's powerful foot print across the Southeast.

FEMA says they have processed over 5,200 claims stemming from Idalia’s wrath. FEMA helped survivors & communities across 49 counties. Federal grants, flood insurance settlements & low-interest disaster loans to recovering Floridians has exceeded a staggering $840 million.

Here’s a look at some of the more prominent calling cards Idalia left behind a year ago, and how things are looking today:

A storm chaser remembering the eerie calm before the storm:

Boot Hill Stadium in Madison, FL got a new scoreboard after Idalia destroyed the old one.

Idalia's storm motion combined with king tides and the shape and bathymetry of Tampa Bay meant that significant storm surge flooding occurred in and around Tampa Bay as well.

A combination of a fire and storm surge impacted this structure in southern Levy County, Florida along the Withlacoochee River

More storm surge flooding around Downtown Tampa

Climatologically, September begins the height of hurricane season. And with several more months ahead of us, there’s no time like the present to be ready for whatever Mother Nature may dish out between now and the end of November.