Hurricane Idalia was a powerful storm in 2023 that reached different categories during its progression. It briefly strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico with peak sustained winds of about 130 mph before landfall. However, it made landfall near Keaton Beach, Florida, as a high-end Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 125 mph. After landfall, it weakened rapidly, eventually downgrading to Category 1 and then to a tropical storm as it moved inland and along the southeastern U.S. coast

. So, at the time of its Florida landfall, Hurricane Idalia was a Category 3 hurricane. It had reached Category 4 status briefly but was not a Category 5 at landfall.