Watch: Video shows Hurricane Idalia's dangerous storm surge overwhelming Clearwater, Florida
Hours before Idalia's landfall, the storm surge in Tampa Bay and Clearwater reached more than 3 feet and the water was still coming with another high tide around 11 a.m.
Idalia storm surge flooding in Clearwater Beach
Storm surge from Hurricane Idalia on Wednesday engulfs Clearwater Beach. (video: Clearwater Police Department)
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Officials in the beach town of Clearwater warned people to stay away as Hurricane Idalia brought several feet of storm surge, inundating marinas and streets.
Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 storm along the coast of the Florida Big Bend near Keaton Beach at 7:45 a.m. ET, posing an immediate threat to lives and properties with its 125 mph winds and significant flooding. Prior to landfall, Idalia's track up the Gulf of Mexico inundated Florida's west coast with storm surge, including Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater.
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By 5 a.m. hours before Idalia's landfall, the storm surge in Tampa Bay and Clearwater reached more than 3 feet and the water was still coming with another high tide around 11 a.m. High tides can amplify storm surge flooding impacts from tropical systems such as Hurricane Idalia.
Hurricane Idalia storm surge in Clearwater Beach, Florida
Parts of Clearwater Beach under water because of Hurricane Idalia storm surge. This is the view of Beach Walk and South Gulfview Boulevard. (Video: Clearwater Police Department)
Video shared by the Clearwater Police Department from cameras along Clearwater Beach showed the water rushing in from the Gulf, covering beach entrances and nearby streets.
FOX Weather Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen was in Clearwater Beach where the winds and high tide continued to push in storm surge on Wednesday.
Parts of the Beach Walk and South Gulfview Boulevard were also covered in water, while the Seminole Docks were submerged Wednesday morning.
According to St. Petersburg city officials, fire rescue crews rescued more than 75 people from flooding on Wednesday.
![A boardwalk at the Clearwater Harbor Marina in Clearwater, Florida, is flooded by the rising tide on August 30, 2023, after Hurricane Idalia made landfall.]()
Image 1 of 3A boardwalk at the Clearwater Harbor Marina in Clearwater, Florida, is flooded by the rising tide on August 30, 2023, after Hurricane Idalia made landfall. (Photo by Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP) (Photo by MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
![High water from Hurricane Idalia storm surge surrounds Tower 1 on Clearwater Beach on Aug. 30, 2023.]()
Image 2 of 3High water from Hurricane Idalia storm surge surrounds Tower 1 on Clearwater Beach on Aug. 30, 2023. (Image: Clearwater Police Department) ( )
![Heavy rain fall at the Clearwater Harbor Marina in Clearwater, Florida, on August 30, 2023, after Hurricane Idalia made landfall.]()
Image 3 of 3Heavy rain fall at the Clearwater Harbor Marina in Clearwater, Florida, on August 30, 2023, after Hurricane Idalia made landfall. Idalia barreled into the northwest Florida coast as a powerful Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday morning, the US National Hurricane Center said. (Photo by Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP) (Photo by MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
Further north on the Gulf Coast, more than 10 feet of storm surge was engulfing the Big Bend of Florida where Idalia made landfall.