CEDAR KEY, Fla. (WRIC) — Hurricane Idalia made landfall in the Florida Big Bend at 7:45 Wednesday morning, unleashing life-threatening storm surges and rainfall.

The hurricane, having previously reached Category 4 status, touched down near Keaton Beach as a Category 3, and was clocked at sustained winds of 125 miles per hour.

By 9 a.m. Idalia had downgraded once again to a Category 2. As the hurricane moves inland, its wind speeds will continue decreasing.

According to the National Hurricane Center, water levels along the coast of the Florida Big Bend are rising rapidly. The NWS continues to relay that catastrophic storm surges and damaging hurricane-force winds are imminent.

The National Weather Service (NWS) says it’s possible storm surge could rise as high as 15 feet in some areas.

The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Idalia “an unprecedented event” since no major hurricane on record has ever passed through the bay abutting the Florida Big Bend.

PHOTOS FROM FLORIDA:

ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – AUGUST 30: Vehicles sit in a flooded street caused by Hurricane Idalia passing offshore on August 30, 2023 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is hitting the Big Bend area of Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
TARPON SPRINGS, FLORIDA – AUGUST 30: In an aerial view, a fire is seen as flood waters inundate the downtown area after Hurricane Idalia passed offshore on August 30, 2023 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is hitting the Big Bend area of Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, FLORIDA – AUGUST 29: William Brouard places sandbags at the door to his IRB Creamery before the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
CLEARWATER BEACH, FLORIDA – AUGUST 29: Nazih Tageddine wraps cellophane around his gas pump to prevent it from being damaged by the rain from Hurricane Idalia as it passes offshore on August 29, 2023 in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
PINELLAS PARK, FLORIDA – AUGUST 29: A grocery store’s water section is almost bare as people stock up ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Pinellas Park, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
TARPON SPRINGS, FLORIDA – AUGUST 30: Reporters wade through flood waters as it inundates the downtown area after Hurricane Idalia passed offshore on August 30, 2023 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is hitting the Big Bend area of Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
A dock, rear, is barely seen above the water, ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Idalia, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, in Cedar Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
TARPON SPRINGS, FLORIDA – AUGUST 30: In an aerial view, a fire is seen as flood waters inundate the downtown area after Hurricane Idalia passed offshore on August 30, 2023, in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is hitting the Big Bend area of Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
MAYO, FLORIDA – AUGUST 30: People work to free a vehicle stuck on the shoulder amid storm debris as Hurricane Idalia crosses the state on August 30, 2023 near Mayo, Florida. The storm made landfall at Keaton Beach, Florida as Category 3 hurricane. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
  • A man runs across flooded Bayshore Blvd., from the storm surge associated with Hurricane Idalia Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. Idalia made landfall earlier this morning along the Big Bend of the state. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
  • Flood waters pushed by Hurricane Idalia pour over the sea wall along Old Tampa Bay as paddle boarder Zeke Pierce, of Tampa, rides Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
  • A woman walks through flooded water along Bayshore Blvd., from storm surge from Hurricane Idalia Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. Idalia made landfall earlier this morning along the Big Bend of the state. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
TARPON SPRINGS, FLORIDA – AUGUST 30: A person canoes through the flooded streets caused by Hurricane Idalia passing offshore on August 30, 2023 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is hitting the Big Bend area on the Gulf Coast of Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
TARPON SPRINGS, FLORIDA – AUGUST 30: Steve Odom stands on the porch of his home that is surrounded by flood waters caused by Hurricane Idalia passing offshore on August 30, 2023 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is hitting the Big Bend area on the Gulf Coast of Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
TARPON SPRINGS, FLORIDA – AUGUST 30: Kyan Watson and her dog Brandon look out at the flood waters from Hurricane Idalia surrounding their house on August 30, 2023 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is hitting the Big Bend area on the Gulf Coast of Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
  • Members of the Tampa Fire Rescue Dept., remove a street pole after large awnings from an apartment building blew off from winds associated with Hurricane Idalia Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. Idalia made landfall earlier this morning along the Big Bend of the state. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
  • A City of Tallahassee electrical worker assesses damage to power lines after a tree fell on Old St. Augustine, a canopy road, in Tallahassee, Fla., as Hurricane Idalia made landfall Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Phil Sears)
TARPON SPRINGS, FLORIDA – AUGUST 30: People ride an ATV through the flooded streets caused by Hurricane Idalia passing offshore on August 30, 2023 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is hitting the Big Bend area on the Gulf Coast of Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
MAYO, FLORIDA – AUGUST 30: People work to free a vehicle stuck on the shoulder amid storm debris as Hurricane Idalia crosses the state on August 30, 2023 near Mayo, Florida. The storm made landfall at Keaton Beach, Florida as Category 3 hurricane. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
  • Members of the National Guard prepare their equipment in Mayo, Fla., as they wait for instructions on where to respond, after the passage of Hurricane Idalia, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
  • HUDSON, FLORIDA – AUGUST 30: Rescue personnel walk through a flooded street after Hurricane Idalia passed offshore on August 30, 2023 in Hudson, Florida. Hurricane Idalia hit the Big Bend area on the Gulf Coast of Florida as a Category 3 storm. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
  • HUDSON, FLORIDA – AUGUST 30: A rescue vehicle drives through a flooded street after Hurricane Idalia passed offshore on August 30, 2023 in Hudson, Florida. Hurricane Idalia hit the Big Bend area on the Gulf Coast of Florida as a Category 3 storm. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
HUDSON, FLORIDA – AUGUST 30: In an aerial view, a home smolders after burning as Hurricane Idalia passed offshore on August 30, 2023 in Hudson, Florida. Hurricane Idalia hit the Big Bend area as a Category 3 storm on the Gulf Coast of Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
People kayak past an abandon vehicle in the intersection of Boca Ciega Drive and Pasadena Avenue Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023 in St. Pete Beach, Fla., Hurricane Idalia made landfall Wednesday in Florida as a Category 3 storm and unleashed devastation along a wide stretch of the Gulf Coast, submerging homes and vehicles, turning streets into rivers, unmooring small boats and downing power lines in an area that has never before received such a pummeling. (Chris Urso/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
A group wades into a flooded Beach Boulevard near 31st Avenue, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, in Gulfport, Fla., as Hurricane Idalia made landfall in the Big Bend region. (Chris Urso/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
  • A man walks his motorcycle to Desoto Park after attempting to ride through an impassable South Bermuda Boulevard at Palmetto Beach in Tampa, Fla., as Hurricane Idalia makes landfall on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (Ivy Ceballo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
  • A fallen tree lies atop the Mayo Cafe and a truck parked outside in Mayo, Fla., after the passage of Hurricane Idalia, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
  • TARPON SPRINGS, FLORIDA – AUGUST 30: A store owner (who did not want to give his name) uses a sump pump to try to keep water out of his store after Hurricane Idalia passed offshore on August 30, 2023 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Hurricane Idalia hit the Big Bend area on the Gulf Coast of Florida as a Category 3 storm. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Rescue workers with Tidewater Disaster Response, from left, Zack Hoeth, Zack McCue, and Mike Foster, of Fairfax, Va., search SW 358 Highway for people in need of help Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, after the arrival of Hurricane Idalia. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Residents of Twin City Mobile Home Park, a manufactured home community in flood zone A, navigate through the neighborhood in high waters, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Hurricane Idalia made landfall in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula. (Jennifer Glenfield
Rescue workers with Tidewater Disaster Response wade through a tidal surge on SW 358 Highway while looking for people in need of help after the Steinhatchee River flooded on Wednesday, Aug 30, 2023, in Steinhatchee, Fla., following the arrival of Hurricane Idalia. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Daniel Dickert wades through water in front of his home where the Steinhatchee River overflowed on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, in Steinhatchee, Fla., after the arrival of Hurricane Idalia. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Parkgoers gather at Cinderella Castle as bands of rain from Hurricane Idalia move through the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. All four of Disney’s Florida theme parks operated with normal hours as Idalia’s main impact was further north in the Big Bend area of the state. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)