Hurricane Idalia makes landfall in Florida with Category 3 winds. Here's what meteorologists say is next.

Hurricane Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning as a powerful Category 3 along Florida's Gulf Coast. After rapidly intensifying on its path through the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and briefly registering as an even stronger Category 4, the hurricane hit Florida's Big Bend area with maximum sustained winds of 125 miles per hour.

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.