Ttopical Storm Idalia is dumping heavy rain and unleashing life-threatening flash floods in portions of eastern North Carolina Thursday morning. The center of Idalia is ust offshore of the coast of North Carolina and expected to move into the western Atlantic this weekend. It's maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph with higher gusts. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles.
A tornado watch was issued earlier for parts North Carolina until early Thursday morning.
Two deaths in Florida and one in South Carolina are blamed on Idalia. Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in Florida's Big Bend area Wednesday.
Florida First lady Casey DeSantis shared an image of a 100 year old oak tree that fell on the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee. Idalia has left many areas completely inundated and roads impassable.
The Biden administration is putting together resources to support states in the path of Idalia. The administration has mobilized 15-hundred federal personnel, more than 540 search and rescue workers and three disaster survivor assistance teams to help residents in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.