Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Idalia Landfall Expected Very Soon; Idalia Now a Category 3 Hurricane. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired August 30, 2023 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Saw DeSantis and the power go out of that press conference as the outer bands of the storm start to hit that city.

[07:00:06]

I want to start, though, with Sara Sidner in Crystal River. Sara, it has been intensifying all morning. What are you seeing right now?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: We are seeing a lot of wind and we are seeing that wind push the water onto shore. It has now come up. It was way back -- see where that -- let's walk over with Adolfo here. Let's walk over to this little sign here.

So, that area right there that has those pipes sticking out of it, that was completely dry about two hours ago. The house that is next to it, and, yes, that is an occupied building, is built so that there is a whole floor that has nothing in it, that they are expecting water to come in.

But if you notice where the water is right now, it's over that small embankment there. That is going to be a business at some point, they are planning to put a business in there.

But let me give you a look at just how choppy things are here, and how high the water has gotten. This was well below this area here, well below. You had to actually sort of really lean down to get close to the water. Now, it is coming up and it's almost completely onto that.

This is nothing compared to what is being expected here. The highest the water has ever gotten here in Crystal River is about four feet above the flood zone. The entire community is a flood zone. It's in a flood zone, which is why they have told people to evacuate.

At this point in time, this is a wind event right now. It has been raining as well as the bands come in. But the real fear is the water. And what do officials always say? You run from the water, you hide from the wind.

Hopefully, people have heeded the warnings, because as this storm gets closer, and keeps pushing this water onto land, this could end up being an extremely dangerous flooding event. It is already starting to flood, the area where we are, which is normal because we are right near the water. All right, I want to get to Tallahassee now, I think, where John Berman is standing by. John -- sorry, where Derek Van Dam, we're going to first -- you know, I have to talk to John, he's my co-anchor of CNN News Central, but we'll talk to him in just a bit. I want to get to Derek Van Dam, who is in Tampa, who is basically half under water, in a place that is normally dry, where you just drive down that beautiful boulevard there in Tampa. What's happening now and where is the storm?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Look, I think people can excuse the technical mishaps we have here, Sara. We're in the middle of a very, very dangerous hurricane. But we're on Bay Shore Boulevard in Tampa Bay, just off of Tampa Bay, the city of Tampa, directly over my right- hand shoulder.

I think these scenes really just paint the picture of what we're experiencing here. Unfortunately, the storm surge has been realized, the four to six feet that we thought and was predicted to come has actually materialized. We're standing on what would normally be a busy thoroughfare, the artery for Tampa. But we've just frankly got an angry Tampa Bay that is throwing its worst at us, even though we're 150 miles to the southeast of the strongest part of Hurricane Idalia.

So, this just goes to show our viewers at home that you don't have to be near the center of the storm to get some serious, serious impacts. And right now, we just happen to be getting one of these rain bands that are pelting my face. It stings. This storm surge is quite a thing. We've had to move our crew vehicles. It continues to come up even though we've surpassed the high tide, which was at 4:00 A.M. this morning.

So, there's a combination of things working for this storm surge, that being the push of water with the winds that are 130 miles per hour across the ocean, but there's also the inland flooding that is taking place from these heavy rain bands, sometimes one, two inches an hour, and then you add that with a super moon, the full moon, the greater tidal swings that we experience, all those things working kind of in symphony together to help raise the water levels along the coast line. And that is what authorities have feared the most, and that is what is being materialized before you.

And you could just see down the road, we've had lights flashing on and off, if my camera man can get that in the background there, again, Tampa completely obscured at the moment. The skyline was visible, not two minutes ago, with these heavy rain bands, strong tropical storm force winds impacting this area.

We don't want to move around too much, because technology getting a little bit shaky in this type of weather, but one thing that's very interesting to note is that homes on Bay Shore Boulevard here in Tampa are threatened by this storm surge.

Now, any local from this area will tell you that Bay Shore Boulevard floods all the time.

[07:05:00] That is true. But this is different. And that's because this storm surge is working in contrast with the inland flooding, and the full moon, and it is causing this push of water that continues to rise well past the high tide that occurred at 4:00 A.M. this morning.

We checked some tidal gauges, Old Port Tampa, which is about 15 minutes to my southwest, preliminary record for storm surge, four feet-plus. The old record was set back in 2020 at 3.79 feet. So, we're sitting in record territory here, Sara and Phil, and we are feeling it.

My team is working extremely hard to show you why people have evacuated zone As across many of the coastal communities here in Florida. Back to you.

SIDNER: Derek Van Dam, thank you, thank you to your crew, Adrian and Carlos, who are taking those incredible pictures, giving people a sense of what they would be experiencing if they did not evacuate, if they did not get out of the storm's path.

And you are not even in the major part of this storm, which, by the way, there's a tiny bit of good news, if you will. It is no longer a Category 4 storm, which is sustained winds of 130 to 156. It now has gone down to a Category 3. You will see this happen, because as it gets closer and closer to shore, once it hits the shore, it starts to knock the wind, so to speak, out of the hurricane.

That does not mean that people are in a safer spot because of the storm surge, because it is still a major hurricane, a Category 3. We're talking 120-mile-per-hour winds or more. And so when you look at that, it still is a very, very dangerous storm, make no mistake about it.

Okay, now -- thank you to Derek. Now, we're going to go to my friend and colleague, John Berman, who is in Tallahassee, which is the capital of Florida. We have just heard from the governor there, Ron DeSantis, talking about the dangers of this storm. Tell me what you are experiencing there, John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's windy, Sara, the governor told everyone to stay inside and you can see why, because the winds really are picking up here. We're getting gusts now that I think that have got to be 40, 45, approaching 50 miles an hour in some cases.

Tallahassee is 20 miles inland from the gulf. Tallahassee has never actually experienced, since they've been keeping records, hurricane force winds. All the storms that have passed through here directly have been just south, and I mean in terms of miles per hour, just less than 74 miles per hour. This storm could very much possibly, even likely, bring hurricane-force winds to Tallahassee, and that would be a first.

You saw the lights flicker on and off when Governor Ron DeSantis, his news conference there. Right now, I'm looking around, there is still power in this area. The town is completely out of gas. We drove around last night when we got in around midnight trying to get gas. There was no gas to be had so people were stocking up and preparing for this.

This is a city. Some 200,000 people live here in Tallahassee, where the storm might make landfall south of here, far, far fewer people. You're talking about hundreds of people right along the coast. But you come inland, which is right in the past of this storm, tens and hundreds of thousands of people who could be affected by the wind and the rain.

Here, the forecast is from anywhere from six to ten inches of rain, absolutely. They expect to see fresh water flooding, absolutely. They expect to see trees down, and roads closed. It could be very, very difficult to get around here in Tallahassee, not long from now.

Obviously, the greater concern is south of here, is right along the coast with the storm surge. That will not be a problem here. But getting from here to there -- obviously this is the capital -- getting help from here to there could be very complicated.

Sara, you get the sense that what's happening here now is just the beginning. It's going to be five, six hours of just real discomfort and danger. Sara?

SIDNER: John Berman, thank you so much for showing us the situation there. And giving us the warning, because Tallahassee is not used to -- it is inland. It's not used to seeing a major hurricane go passing over it and people need to be prepared for that. Thank you so much, friend. We'll check back with you in just a few minutes.

I want to go to Bill Weir now. Bill, tell me where you are and tell me what you are seeing? We are starting to see another band of wind here in Crystal River that is pushing this water ever higher into the community.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: I am north of you, Sara, Steinhatchee, Florida. And first light is giving us our first look at Hurricane Idalia. She's somewhere over there. This is just the edge, sort of the southern tip of the Big Bend, as the wilderness preserves and the nature coast goes around to the panhandle here.

[07:10:06]

These big grand old trees are what worries the folks in the immediate term.

We're in that sort of surreal early storm phase between the bands, where it gets calm, actually, actual calm, and then, boom, a gust will come up and catch you. We're hearing the corrugated roofs on the docks banging around down there.

There's a big worry that if the storm surge is, as predicted, over a dozen feet, it could lift pretty much every one of these floating docks off of their moorings and let them fly and float around this neighborhood.

This is a fishing community, small, about a thousand people or so. It should be the height of scallop season with tourists, but largely evacuated due to the mandatory orders. There's always that percentage of Floridians, the ride it out, the never leavers, who are here, who have made that calculation, and they know that they won't attended to if they call for help in the middle of the high winds.

But we lost power at about 5:00 A.M. this morning. That was expected. And now, it's sort of batten down the hatches time, because here comes Idalia. Sara?

SIDNER: Thank you so much, Bill Weir. Good to know that, you know, look, you're doing okay and you're in the calm before another band comes through. I appreciate your time, Bill. We will be checking back in with you, thank you also to Derek Van Dam and to John Berman, who in Tallahassee, Derek Van Dam in Tampa. We're giving you the scenes of what's happening with this Category 3 now, Hurricane Idalia. Back to you, Phil, in the studio.

MATTINGLY: Yes, Sara, really spanning about 150 to 180 miles of the West Coast of Florida, all of which is seeing effects, even though the Big Bend region is really kind of the direct path. Keaton Beach is what the Florida Emergency Management Division official, who leads that organization, was saying earlier today.

Sara, we've been watching throughout the course of the morning, and what you've been seeing on the ground, the water, the flooding, we've been talking about storm surges, very, very dangerous, potentially 12 to 16 feet.

As you noted it is now Category 3 storm, not Category 4. But, interestingly, in talking to the National Hurricane Center director earlier, last hour, he made the point, we're talking about five or ten miles an hour here. That is not a dramatic difference when you're talking about the scale of the storm that we're seeing, particularly in places like Steinhatchee, where Bill Weir is.

Sara, we'll be getting back to you, the entire team coverage going forward. And we're also going to hear from Allison Chinchar, our meteorologist, about what exactly is happening right now as we see this storm edge towards landfall in Florida's gulf coast region.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:15:00]

MATTINGLY: Welcome back to the breaking news. We are covering now a Category 3 hurricane, Hurricane Idalia. You're looking at Tampa, Florida. It is in the outer bounds of this hurricane that is nearing landfall, at some point, within the next hour, according to Governor Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor in his latest press briefing.

I want to go straight to Meteorologist Allison Chinchar. She's live in the CNN Weather Center. I think the biggest question for people who have been following this throughout the course of the morning, the intensification to a Category 4 hurricane, it has now been downgraded to Category 3. Why?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's a great question. So, basically, what the storm is doing is it's actually trying to make itself stronger. It's undergoing what we call an eye wall replacement cycle. Essentially, temporarily, the eye wall closes up, pressures go up and winds decrease. But the hope is that it comes back on the back end of that even stronger than it's ever been.

What bodes well in our favor is that it may not have time to complete that cycle before it makes landfall, because landfall is imminent at this point in time. And so while it's undergoing that eye wall replacement cycle, it's not likely that it will have enough time to get back to a Category 4 before it makes landfall.

I want to emphasize, nothing has changed about the impacts, whether this is a low end Cat 4 versus high end Cat 3, the impacts to the storm will remain the same. You have this extreme wind warning for these counties here until 9:15 A.M. We are anticipating these winds here to exceed that 80, 90, even 100-mile-per-hour threshold.

Right now, most of them sustained about 20 to 40 miles per hour. We're getting some wind gusts down around Tampa and Sarasota, even Brooksville in that 50 to 60-mile-per-hour range, and those are going to continue to go up as we go through the next several hours.

Tornado watches also in effect for both portions of Florida as well as Georgia. That goes until 3:00 this afternoon. We have already had nearly a dozen tornado warnings already so far this morning. Those are going to continue, again, even throughout the afternoon. The vast majority of them are going to come from some of these outer bands. So, it doesn't even have to be in the center of the storm for you to get those tornado warnings.

One thing to point out when we talk about that, everyone knows, in a tornado warning, your safe spot is the lowest level of your home. But if your home is taking in flood waters, you don't want to go to the lowest level of your home, you want to go to the highest level of your home.

So, keep in mind, your safe place for much of the day today is probably going to be in the middle of that, being in an interior room, somewhere on the mid-level of your home, away from the flood waters, but also protecting you from the tornado potential.

These outer bands are going to continue to stretch in, that storm surge is also, Sara, going to continue as we go to the rest of the afternoon.

SIDNER: Yes, thank you so much for all of that, giving everybody a sense of where the storm is, what is happening, all across the West Coast of Florida.

We are in Crystal River and we are watching as a new band of wind has been coming through here. And I just want to just give you a sense of how strong it is right now. We've seen a stronger gust, but they keep coming.

And so look at that boat and if you also see to the right there, you will see flags flying. Those are being shredded. The top of that boat, the tarp that covers your head normally, is being shredded because these winds are sustained. They keep coming through and just barreling through this area, pushing all of that water onto shore. It is now a lot further in, several feet onto shore there from the water. And that's the thing that everyone is afraid of is, as these waters get pushed onto shore, it puts people in true danger.

Right now, you're okay. Right now, if you wanted to evacuate from this place, you could. But it is going to get to a point where you cannot, according to the predictions. So, stay safe. Try to get to higher ground. You don't have to go far.

All right, I think we are now moving on, Carolyn (ph), where are we going from here?

All right, Brian Todd is in Tallahassee, he's in the capital of Florida for us. We've heard from Ron DeSantis this morning, who has been telling people that, look, we will get to you as soon as you can if you have an emergency. But if you haven't left the evacuation zones, you are on your own for a while because the emergency systems don't want to get caught in it and be stranded themselves. Tell us what's going on where you are.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Sara. The emergency response teams here, we have heard them in action. We've heard sirens earlier this morning, but that's going to stop because emergency responders, first responders not going to be able to get out to rescue you, if you call them, from pretty much here on in until this storm passes.

[07:20:07]

I'm just getting kind of clobbered with another band of wind and rain here in Tallahassee. It is definitely intensifying.

And the dangers are pretty much all around you, if you try to venture out in this stuff, I'm going to kind of illustrate that here. Check out this old live oak tree. Spanish moss hanging from this old oak tree. Thousands of trees like this around the Tallahassee area, it's what makes this city distinct and beautiful, but it also makes it a little bit more vulnerable. A lot of weight on these trees, the ground underneath this tree here becoming saturated, these are the kind of trees that get uprooted and fall down, especially here in Tallahassee.

We've covered a hurricane here a few years ago. What struck us then was the amount of trees like this, old oak trees, that just came crashing down on the roads, blocking the roads. People could not navigate through it.

I'm going to show you something else here. Our photojournalist, David Brooks, is going to throw his camera across the street to that street light over there. That can kind of give you a good illustration of kind of where the wind and rain is blowing. When the rain starts to blow sideways you know that it's getting very, very intense and you've got to be very, very careful trying to navigating your way through that.

Now, as I kind of come a little bit more forward, here's another thing you've got to watch out for. Take a look at that little banner, that advertisement banner across the street that's on that pole, that little temporary banner of that sign, that thing has been really whipping around.

Right now, it's okay. But that thing has really been kind of swaying back and forth as the wind has intensified. That's the kind of thing that you've got to be very, very careful about, because that's the kind of thing that can become uprooted. If and when that thing does, that's like a javelin flying around when the wind is really intense here, which we do expect.

I heard our colleague, John Berman, who is in the same town as me, mentioning that Tallahassee has rarely if ever experienced hurricane force winds. That is coming. And, again, first responders telling us that they are not going to be able to get to you if you call for a rescue from here on in. People are just going to have to ride this out and do not venture out in this stuff. Back to you guys.

SIDNER: Yes, that is really good advice, something that cannot be said enough, because the emergency responders can't get stuck in it themselves, and then need to be rescued. They have to be there when the storm passes through so that they can get to people.

But this is why they ask you, they beg you, they tell you for days to evacuate. Don't put them in harm. don't put yourself and your family and your pets in harm. Try to get to higher ground. It's just stuff. I know we love our stuff but we love our lives more.

All right, going now to Vincent Long, because he's someone, as are many people, that are involved in officialdom here in Florida, that has to stay around, that has to be there, that has to watch this from the ground so that they can activate people when needed. He is the county administrator for Leon County.

Vincent, tell us what's happening in Leon County at this point in time as far as what's happening with the storm physically and what you are telling residents there.

VINCENT S. LONG, ADMINISTRATOR, LEON COUNTY, FLORIDA: Well, good morning, thanks for having me. Yes, as you've reported we are beginning to experience the outer bands of Idalia, as rain and wind are certainly picking up here. And we anticipate tropical storm force as well as hurricane force winds today.

We have been monitoring Idalia since it was a tropical depression, and since very early on, and indicated that it would be heading our way and to, of course, rapidly intensify. And she's done all of that and more. And so we've taken the past few days to coordinate intensively and extensively with all of our Emergency Management partners and to advise our citizens and to prepare as good as we can.

You may know we are no strangers to hurricanes here in Leon County and Tallahassee, having faced Hermine and Irma and Michael in successive years. So, we've learned a lot. We've put those lessons into our preparations, but, frankly, preparation time is over. We are advising our citizens to shelter in place, whether you're sheltering at home or in one of our emergency shelters.

And we are in for a lot of -- into dangerous weather for the foreseeable future. And, again, just as soon as we can we'll be in a disaster assessment and a recovery mode, but not until we experience several hours of potentially very dangerous weather.

SIDNER: Vincent Long, I think something that you said bears repeating. At this point, the time to evacuate in Leon County is over. That needs to be stated again and again for those folks that are watching that still have electricity that now it is time to shelter in place. If you have stayed and not evacuated, this is not a time to try to evacuate in Leon County.

There are other counties that you would be fine to leave, but in Leon County right now, just hearing this from your administrator, this is not a time to leave, you will put yourself in worse danger.

[07:25:04]

There is also the danger, Vincent, of the power lines. What is happening with power? Obviously, you have some, a lot of people in Florida, as a Floridian, have generators, right, that help them keep the power on, at least be able to, you know, sort of charge their phones and keep their refrigerator going. What's the situation with power and what are you expecting as far as power outages potentially?

LONG: Well, our power is pretty stable at this time. We are encouraging citizens, of course, we expect power outages. But, again, our providers are working around the clock to shore up our utilities. We're advising people, again, to stay away from downed power lines, very important.

And if you use a generator, again, we can't emphasize enough to ensure that you have proper ventilation. A generator in an enclosed area for just a few minutes can be deadly. And so we can't emphasize that enough. We're encouraging our citizens to -- when it is safe, to check on their neighbors, again, stay away from downed power lines, and, of course, to use cautions when utilizing and operating those emergency generators.

SIDNER: That is such good advice. Thank you so much, Vincent Long there just reminding people that this is not a time in Leon County to evacuate. If you have not evacuated, you need shelter in place. And as you heard Vincent say there, be careful with your generators. They can cause carbon monoxide poisoning if they are in an enclosed space and you are there with that air.

Thank you so much. Please, sir, take care of yourself, take care of your family and we'll be checking back in with you in the next few hours.

Let's toss it now back to Phil from live here in Crystal River, Florida.

MATTINGLY: Yes, thank you, Sara. And I want to follow up. You had a great question related to the power and power lines, what we're seeing, especially given the scale and speed of the wind.

Just moments ago, you saw this video when Sara was asking that question, in Perry, Florida we saw a line blow out. This is the reality right now. You heard from Governor DeSantis and his team, state and local officials about their focus on trying to restore power, the power they have restored up to this point, but, obviously, the worst of the storm still approaching landfall at this moment.

They say they are ready to address what will be a significant issue when landfall happens and its aftermath but there will also be a lot of restrictions getting linesmen out, getting emergency crews out will be very difficult in the immediate aftermath of landfall. We're going to talk about that and a lot more with the FEMA administrator, Deanne Criswell, shortly, a major federal element to all of this as well.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:00]