Helene strengthened into a hurricane on Wednesday as forecasters warned it could become a major Category 3 storm before it makes landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast late Thursday.
The National Hurricane Center said Wednesday that Hurricane Helene is expected to bring “life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds, and flooding rains to a large portion of Florida and the Southeastern United States.”
With the exact area where Helene will make landfall still uncertain, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a disaster declaration for 61 of Florida’s 67 counties late Monday. What has become clear is that the storm is expected to be the strongest hurricane to hit the United States this season and could also go down in history as one of the fastest-developing storms on record.
“There is a runway for this to rapidly intensify,” DeSantis said at a press conference on Wednesday. “Make sure you’re making the best decisions for yourself and your family.”
Helene’s impacts will not be limited to the Sunshine State, the National Hurricane Center has warned.
“Considerable flash and urban flooding is expected across portions of Florida, the Southeast, southern Appalachians, and the Tennessee Valley Wednesday through Friday,” the National Hurricane Center said in a Tuesday bulletin.
Here are the latest developments from Yahoo News on the approaching storm. For liveblog updates in Spanish, click here.
Englewood to Anclote River, including Tampa Bay in Florida
A tropical storm warning was in effect for:
Dry Tortugas
All of the Florida Keys
The west coast of Florida from Flamingo to Anclote River, including Tampa Bay
West of Mexico Beach to the Walton/Bay County Line
The east coast of Florida from Flamingo to Altamaha Sound, Ga.
Lake Okeechobee
Río Lagartos to Tulum, Mexico
Cuban provinces of Artemisa, Pinar del Río and the Isle of Youth
A tropical storm watch was in effect for:
A storm surge watch was in effect for:
Where is the storm and what is its path?
According to the National Hurricane Center’s latest advisory, Tropical Storm Helene — with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph — is located about 60 miles east-northeast of Cozumel, Mexico, and 100 miles west-southwest of Cuba, and is moving northwest at 9 mph.
The storm is expected to rapidly intensify and come ashore along the Gulf Coast of Florida as a Category 3 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds exceeding 111 miles per hour.
“Damaging hurricane-force winds are expected along portions of the coast of the Florida Big Bend, where a Hurricane Warning is now in effect,” the hurricane center said. “Preparations to protect life and property should be complete by early Thursday.”