The 1917 Nueva Gerona hurricane was the most intense tropical cyclone to strike the Florida Panhandle until Hurricane Opal in 1995. The eighth tropical cyclone and fourth tropical storm of the season, this system was identified as a tropical storm east of the Lesser Antilles on September 20. After crossing the Lesser Antilles, the system entered the Caribbean Sea and achieved hurricane intensity on September 21. After becoming a Category 2 hurricane, the storm struck the northern coast of Jamaica on September 23. Early on September 25, the cyclone reached Category 4 status and attained maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (240 km/h) soon thereafter. Later that day, the hurricane made landfall in eastern Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. The system entered the Gulf of Mexico shortly thereafter an