Brooks County under Hurricane Warning

Brooks County, GA—On August 29, 2023 Brooks County citizens may have woken up some warnings from their phones as well as on the local weather channels. According to Tallahassee Weather (2023), a Hurricane Warning has been issued, a Tornado Warning, and Flood Warning. 

Brooks County residents need to make sure their preparations are done today, as weather forecasts are listing rain beginning later this afternoon, and progressively becoming worse. According to weatherkit.apple.com “As of 5 a.m. EDT, Idalia has become a hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. Idalia is centered about 460 miles south of Steinhatchee, Florida, moving north at 14 mph. Idalia will rapidly intensify today and will slam into the Florida Big Bend Wednesday morning as a major hurricane. Strengthening is possible all the way up to landfall. To put this into a historical context, there are NO major hurricanes in the historical dataset going back to 1851 that have tracked into Apalachee Bay. This has the makings of an unprecedented event for this part of the state. Your final preparations need to be finished before sunset this evening. If you have been ordered to evacuate, leave today before sunset. Conditions will rapidly deteriorate tonight and into the day Wednesday. Life-threatening storm surge is expected around the shores of Apalachee Bay. Storm. Storm surge will be highly dependent on the storm track, with the highest surge values along and to the right of the center…Hurricane Warning is in effect from Indian Pass to the Suwanee River, including inland portions of the eastern Florida Big Bend and lower I-75 corridor of Georgia. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Leon and inland Wakulla Counties…”. 

Further warnings issued this morning include predicted rainfall amounts for Brooks County, GA being anywhere from one to four inches and in some places up to six inches or higher. Flood warning is issued for Brooks County, GA. Possibility of excessive rainfall could potentially cause flooding of creeks, rivers, ditches, and ponds. 

There is also the potential for tornados developing in the area. Conditions are reported as being favorable for pop up tornados in the area. 

Citizens in the path should complete any and all preparations for this coming Hurricane today as conditions will deteriorate rapidly in the coming hours. For more information or to keep updated on the current weather please download local weather apps. Residents of Brooks County can also sign up for the local Emergency app CodeRed app. This app is free to download and use and will provide real time emergency information for this area. 

At this time Brooks County School is not closed for today or tomorrow. They have announced they are watching Hurricane Idalia and will continue to monitor the progress before making any decisions. Further information on school closings can be found on their social media sites.