Florida’s Big Bend region is expected to get the brunt of yet another named storm this week, which would be the third direct hit for that area of Florida in just over a year’s time.
The area saw flooding and damage with Hurricane Debby in August and devastating impacts during and after Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall there just a year earlier.
Tropical Storm Helene became a named storm at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, and quickly reached hurricane status on Wednesday, Sept. 25. By the time it makes landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast sometime Thursday evening, forecasters expect it to be a Category 3 hurricane.
Here’s where the Big Bend region is, why it’s called that and an update on Hurricane Helene as it approaches Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Is Helene a hurricane yet? Where in Florida will Helene hit?
Tropical Storm Helene quickly became a hurricane on Wednesday and is expected to strengthen to a Category 3 by the time it makes landfall.
“Hurricane Helene is moving into the Gulf of Mexico, where it’s expected to quickly intensify before making landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast Thursday, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center,” The Florida Times Union reported in a tropics update on Wednesday.
“Impacts will be far reaching from the huge storm and most of Florida is either under a hurricane or tropical storm watch or warning. Life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds and flooding rains are expected for a large portion of Florida and the southeastern United States.”
Where is the Big Bend? Storm forecast to hit Florida as powerful Hurricane Helene.
Where is the Big Bend region in Florida? Is Tallahassee part of the Big Bend?
Florida’s “Big Bend” is in the curve of Florida’s peninsula around the Gulf of Mexico. The area includes Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie and Levy counties and is composed largely of “untamed coastal landscape,” according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
“The Big Bend is a lush blend of salt marshes, tidal swamps, deep woodlands and an occasional slice of sandy beach,” the FWC said.
Other significant Florida cities and towns in the area include Apalachicola, St. Marks, Carrabelle, Perry, Steinhatchee, Cedar Key and Florida’s capital city, Tallahassee, which is a little more than 20 miles from the Gulf Coast.
Most folks believe the name came from Tallahassee Democrat editor Malcolm Johnson, who led the newspaper for nearly a quarter-century (1954-78). That’s according to Bill Edmonds, a former Democrat editor who wrote his doctoral dissertation on the Southern press and civil rights, including Johnson.
At some point, Edmonds told City & State Florida last September, Johnson “thought that the area needed a name like the other proper places in Florida,” such as “Gold Coast” for South Florida.
“And so he just looked at the map and came up with ‘Big Bend’,” Edmonds said, “inventing a name that worked and lasted.”
What was the last hurricane to hit Florida’s Big Bend?
Five storms have churned through Florida’s Big Bend region in the last 10 years and two of those storms occurred just since last August.
“The forecast arrival on Thursday of another hurricane seems like a recurring nightmare for residents of Florida’s Big Bend and eastern Panhandle,” USA TODAY reported on Wednesday.
“Helene is expected to be the fifth hurricane to smack this roughly 200 miles of mostly rural coast between Panama City and Cedar Key in just eight years. Only three hurricanes have arrived elsewhere along the rest of the state’s more than 800 miles of coastline over that time span.”
Here are the hurricanes that have passed through or directly hit Florida’s Big Bend region since 2014, according to the Tallahassee Democrat:
2016: Hurricane Hermine2017: Hurricane Irma2018: Hurricane Michael2023: Hurricane IdaliaAugust 5, 2024: Hurricane Debby
Hurricanes in the Big Bend: A history of hurricane hits and near misses for Tallahassee and the Big Bend
How far is Jacksonville from the Big Bend region of Florida?
The Big Bend is a large region of the state, so the distance from Jacksonville depends on which city you choose. Most towns and cities in the Big Bend are around three to four hours away by car. For example, Tallahassee is about three hours away, while Apalachicola is about four hours away.
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Publish date : 2024-09-25 09:04:00
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