Hurricane Idalia makes landfall in Florida as powerful Category 3. Photo: NOAA

The National Hurricane Center warned of "catastrophic storm surge and destructive winds occurring in the Florida Big Bend region." The Big Bend is the stretch of the Gulf Coast where the Florida peninsula meets the panhandle.

Storm surge in the region was forecast to reach up to 16 feet in some areas.

"That level of storm surge is life threatening," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at an early morning briefing, adding, "There will be impacts far behind the eye wall, and those will extend to places like Tallahassee" and other parts of northeast Florida.

National Hurricane Center forecasters say Idalia is expected to continue on a northeasterly path after making landfall. Its impact will be felt across much of the northern and central parts of the state, with high winds and heavy rain in addition to dangerous storm surge in coastal areas.

Later Wednesday and into Thursday, Idalia is then forecast to track across southeast Georgia and the coast of South Carolina and the southeastern portion of North Carolina before moving out to sea.

Hurricane Idalia wind speeds

Before reaching Florida, Idalia intensified in the Gulf of Mexico from tropical storm to hurricane strength Tuesday morning. It strengthened further to a Category 2, with sustained winds of 100 mph, on Tuesday afternoon. Overnight, it rapidly intensified to a Category 3 and then Category 4, with winds of 130 mph early Wednesday, before retreating slightly back to Category 3.

The National Hurricane Center reported maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, with higher gusts, in its 7 a.m. ET update.

Category 3 means a hurricane has maximum sustained winds of between 111 mph to 129 mph.

Any storm that reaches a Category 3 or higher the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale — which runs from 1 to 5, based on a storm's wind speeds — is considered a "major hurricane," with the potential for "significant loss of life and damage," the National Hurricane Center says.