A rare blue supermoon could be playing a role in worsening the impact of Hurricane Idalia as the storm lashes Florida's west coast.
The moon was closest to the Earth on Wednesday, the same day Idalia made landfall as a high-end Category 3 hurricane near Keaton Beach in Florida's sparsely populated Big Bend region with maximum sustained winds near 125 mph .While a supermoon can make for a spectacular backdrop in photos of landmarks around the world, its intensified gravitational pull also makes tides higher.
It's expected to make tidal flooding worse not only in Florida, but in states such as Georgia and South Carolina, where Haines' office has been warning residents that parts of Charleston could be under water by Wednesday night. The storm surge is often the greatest killer when hurricanes strike. The ocean water pouring onto land could be up to 15 feet along parts of Florida's west coast, the National Hurricane Center projected in its latest briefings Tuesday. Farther south, up to 7 feet of storm surge is expected in the Tampa Bay area.
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