Hurricane Idalia slams Florida's Big Bend as a major storm
The powerful hurricane brought a dangerous surge to a sparsely populated stretch of the Gulf Coast.
Hurricane Idalia roared ashore along Florida's Big Bend this August as a major hurricane, bringing a dangerous storm surge and destructive winds to a relatively rural and sparsely populated stretch of the Gulf Coast rarely struck by storms of such intensity.
Idalia intensified rapidly over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall with sustained winds around 125 miles per hour. The Big Bend, where the peninsula curves into the Panhandle, is a region of low-lying coastline, marshes and small communities, and the surge pushed well inland, inundating towns.
Because the storm struck a less densely populated area, the loss of life was far lower than it might have been elsewhere, but the damage to the communities in its path was severe, and the storm caused flooding and wind damage as it moved on into Georgia and the Carolinas.
Idalia's rapid intensification just before landfall continued a worrying pattern seen in many recent storms, as unusually warm ocean waters allow hurricanes to strengthen quickly, sometimes giving residents little time to prepare for a far more powerful storm than forecast days earlier.
The storm was a reminder that even stretches of coastline long spared from major hurricanes are not immune, and that warming seas are raising the risk of rapid intensification. For the communities of the Big Bend, Idalia was a rare and punishing blow.