Hurricane Safety and Preparedness

Idalia Ties As Florida Big Bend’s Record Strongest Hurricane

At a Glance

Hurricane Idalia has tied as the strongest landfall in Florida's Big Bend region.
It equaled the intensity of a hurricane in 1896.
Its peak surge could also be historic for the Big Bend.
In some places the surge could meet or exceed peak values from the 1993 Superstorm and the 1896 hurricane.

NEW: Get breaking news delivered straight to your desktop or mobile phone.

Hurricane Idalia has tied as the Big Bend of Florida's strongest hurricane landfall on record.

Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning as a Category 3 with 125 mph winds near Keaton Beach. This is Florida's Big Bend, the region of the state described as the transition zone between the panhandle and the peninsula.

(MORE: Interactive Storm Tracker)

Major hurricanes have been exceedingly few. According to NOAA's historical hurricane tracks database, only two other Category 3 hurricanes have previously tracked anywhere between Apalachicola and Homosassa Springs, Florida, dating to the 1850s.

The last one to do so was 73 years ago, when Hurricane Easy made landfall just east of Cedar Key with 120 mph winds, then abruptly pivoted south to a second landfall near Hernando Beach.

The only other Category 3 hurricane in this region was the September 1896 hurricane, whose eyewall raked across Cedar Key with estimated 125 mph winds. Idalia's landfall has equaled the intensity of that hurricane.

The vast majority of major - Category 3 or stronger - hurricanes have either hit or brushed the peninsula, or have hammered the northern Gulf Coast generally west of Apalachicola.

A storm surge record for the Big Bend is also in jeopardy. Idalia could also produce a peak storm surge that could set a new record for the region.

The National Hurricane Center was forecasting a peak storm surge inundation of 12 to 16 feet above ground level in parts of the Big Bend.

While not a tropical cyclone, the March 1993 Superstorm produced prolific storm surge flooding along parts of the coast of Florida. An up to 12 foot storm surge in Taylor County, drowned 13 people, according to the National Weather Service.

The September 1896 hurricane pushed a storm surge of 10.5 feet into Cedar Key, and 12.6 feet into Yankeetown, Florida, according to the NWS. An estimated 100 deaths were attributed to the storm.

Damage in Cedar Key, Florida, after the Sept. 1896 hurricane.
(NOAA)

It could be some time after Idalia until final peak storm surge inundation measurements can be taken by survey teams.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. His lifelong love of meteorology began with a close encounter with a tornado as a child in Wisconsin. He studied physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then completed his Master's degree working with dual-polarization radar and lightning data at Colorado State University. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on X (formerly Twitter), Threads and Facebook.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.