©  AP

Hurricane Idalia made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast this morning as an “extremely dangerous” Category 3 hurricane — which has since been downgraded to a Category 1. The storm brought maximum winds reaching 125 mph and major flooding.  

Live updates and forecast from The Weather Channel

For context — this map is pretty striking: Colorado State University’s Philip Klotzbach pointed out that “for the first time since 1950, the Atlantic has two 110+ mph [hurricanes] in August simultaneously.” Radar showing Hurricanes Idalia and Franklin simultaneously spinning 

• AccuWeather: Live storm tracker  

• Fox Weather: Storm forecast 

• The National Hurricane Center: Storm tracker and projections 

• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): Daily Operations Briefing 

• The Florida Division of Emergency Management: Announcements, updates and plans 

• Bay News 9: Evacuation zones and shelters by county

• News 4 Jax: Livestreams of several beaches during the storm 

It’s Wednesday. Hurricane Idalia is battering Florida as we speak. I’ve been finding a lot of wild footage of the storm on X, formerly known as Twitter. The craziest video I’ve seen so far is a rare weather phenomenon known as St. Elmo’s Fire in Tampa. Keep reading to see that footage. And in lighter news, there’s a rare blue supermoon in the sky tonight! 

I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and Labor Day weekend cookout recipes to cmartel@digital-stage.thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you?  Sign up here.  

As promised, here is one of the wildest weather videos I’ve ever seen: AccuWeather posted, “A plane being evacuated from MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL due to Hurricane #Idalia recorded St. Elmo’s Fire, a lightning-like weather phenomenon which is a coronal discharge of plasma.” It looks like a scene from “Stranger Things.”  Video of the *insane* lightning 

Overhead footage of Hurricane Idalia: From MyRadar Weather’s Colin McCarthy. Watch 

Just look at the sheer power of the storm: Video of the gusts from @aaronjayjack in Perry, Fla. 

It knocked over the canopy of a gas station: More footage from @aaronjayjack 

Ugh, look at this condo complex in Cedar Key: Video from meteorologist Reed Timmer 

Wow, check out this wind: @WxSidneyG posted video of a palm tree getting battered in the storm. Watch  

Sheets and sheets of rain: Video from Fox 4 Now’s Andrew Shipley in Cape Coral, Fla.  

Major flooding in Cedar Key: Video from The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore 

A flooded bridge in Tampa: Here’s footage of the Howard Frankland Bridge, which connects Tampa to St. Petersburg. Watch Livestream of the bridge now 

Yikes, this looks scary: The National Desk’s Cayle Thompson posted, “This is terrifying, especially in the dark.  This is what it looks like at Cedar Key, FL, as of 4:30am ET.” Watch the overnight footage 

The dark skies yesterday: @JenHemmerdinger posted video of the clouds ahead of the storm. “I’ve never seen the sky so dark during the day,” she noted. Watch the beach footage 

Water levels: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Oceans Service X account posted a graph detailing the rising water levels at its Cedar Key station:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) gave an update on the storm early this morning and during his press conference, the power briefly went out. Watch the C-SPAN clip — the power goes out around the 5-minute mark. 

An old video of GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy as a Harvard University student in 2003 has gone viral on social media. 

The clip: 18-year-old Ramaswamy questioned then-candidate Al Sharpton about his “political experience” during an October 2003 presidential town hall on MSNBC’s “HardBall with Chris Matthews.” Watch the clip — it begins around the 30-second mark 

Why this is notable: During last week’s debate, several GOP candidates similarly criticized Ramaswamy’s nonpolitical background. 

The Hill’s Mychael Schnell and Emily Brooks report that a handful of House conservatives are flirting with the possibility of a government shutdown next month. 

For example from Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.): “Eighty-five percent or so of the government continues to operate, and most Americans won’t even miss it. And if that’s the leverage that we need to utilize to force the Democrats to accept spending cuts and an end to the harmful policies that are, again, crushing the American people — I mean, then we need to do that.”  

How this could play out in the House 

MSNBC’s Ja’han Jones writes: “Facing a shutdown, [Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)] struggles to get his unruly caucus in line: The House speaker warned Republicans that shutting down the government would hurt the country. But the Freedom Caucus is defying him.” What this means for McCarthy 

Former President Trump’s rivals saw sizable bumps in polling following last week’s GOP presidential primary debate that he skipped. The Hill’s Brett Samuels examined the post-debating polling and how it could lure Trump back into the debate circuit. The full read

The Hill’s Alex Gangitano pointed out that “while we’re tracking the hurricane in Florida, fun fact/reminder for some that the president of the University of Florida is former Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse … one of my favorite post-senate jobs.”  

The House and Senate are out. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C. Harris has no public events scheduled. 

• 10 a.m.: Biden received his daily briefing. 

• 📺 12:45 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre holds a press briefing. Livestream 

• 📺 1:45 p.m.: Biden delivers remarks on the response and recovery efforts in Maui and on the hurricane in Florida. Livestream 

• Today: Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii) hosts House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.) in Maui to survey the fire damage. (h/t The Hill’s Liz Crisp) 

• Sept. 5: The Senate returns. Senate calendar 

• Sept.12: The House returns. House calendar  

All times Eastern.

Hello, 12:30 readers! I’m testing out a new format with this section. What do you think? Any other ideas you’d like to see? Let me know me — you know I always love hearing your input! 

🔥 Celebrate: Today is National Toasted Marshmallow Day! 

🌕 Look in the sky tonight: You will see a rare “Super Blue Moon.” Here’s the livestream, just in case your view is crummy 

🎙️ The five big late-night stars are launching a podcast: Late night hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver are launching a limited podcast to support their staff who are part of the writers strikes. That’s a stacked list. The first episode launches today! Watch the preview that Meyers said he “had NO idea” was being recorded. 

✈️ Looking for last-minute Labor Day plans?: The New York Times has a helpful guide of travel tools. 

And just in case none of those headlines piqued your interest, here’s a bird sporting its new kicks.  

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