Hurricane Helene heading for Florida

The Category 1 hurricane will continue to grow and will reach peak intensity just before hitting Florida’s Gulf Coast Thursday evening, according to The National Weather Service Hurricane Center. Helene doused Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Wednesday with maximum sustained winds clocking at 80 mph. Life-threatening storm surges are expected along Florida’s entire west coast with the highest inundation above 10 ft along Florida's Big Bend, according to the NWS Hurricane Center.

Northern Florida and southern Georgia should also brace for hurricane-force winds which are expected to continue inland across the southeastern U.S. and southern Appalachian Mountains. Potentially life-threatening flash flooding is also expected across the southeast and into the upper Tennessee Valley through Friday, according to the NWS Hurricane Center.

How are people preparing for the storm? Florida will prepare for the worst and hope for the best, Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote Tuesday morning. There are nearly 18,000 electrical linemen staged with more on the way, he added. The state is also ready with crews for search, rescue, and roadway clearance, DeSantis added. The Federal Emergency Management Agency also approved the state’s request for a pre-landfall disaster declaration, according to Florida’s Division of Emergency Management. DeSantis also issued a state of emergency Tuesday for over 60 counties. Both voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders are in effect in several counties statewide, the emergency department added.

Where is the storm headed? The National Weather Service predicted the storm would continue moving north into the Ohio Valley through Friday with strong winds, flooding rains, and isolated tornadoes.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report on the formation and path of Helene earlier this week.