Hurricane Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach in Florida's Big Bend region on the morning of August 30, 2023, around 7:45 a.m. ET. It struck as a strong Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of about 125 mph
. The Big Bend area, including Levy, Dixie, and Taylor counties, experienced devastating storm surge flooding, with surge heights ranging from 7 to 12 feet above normally dry ground in some coastal areas
. The storm then moved inland across northern Florida into southern Georgia and the Carolinas, weakening as it progressed
