Potentially ‘catastrophic’ Hurricane Helene on collision course with Florida coast

The National Hurricane Center is now calling for Helene, which reached hurricane strength Wednesday morning, to rapidly intensify into an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm before making landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast on Thursday.

Forecasters warned that the powerful and unusually large storm could bring “catastrophic” impacts from storm surge, wind and flooding in Florida and other parts of the southeastern United States as it moves swiftly inland through Friday.

The National Hurricane Center warned of a “catastrophic and deadly” storm surge in Florida’s Big Bend area “that could reach as high as 20 feet above ground level.” It also cautioned the surge could be life-threatening along the entire west coast of Florida’s peninsula. The surge in Tampa Bay was predicted to reach 5 to 8 feet high, which could break records.

According to the Hurricane Center, “potentially catastrophic winds,” with gusts up to 130 mph are also possible in the Big Bend area, where the storm is predicted to make landfall Thursday evening. Several major Florida cities, such as Tampa, Gainesville and Tallahassee, could see gusts over 70 mph.

“Damaging and life-threatening hurricane-force winds, especially in gusts, will penetrate well inland over portions of northern Florida and southern Georgia late Thursday and Thursday night,” the Hurricane Center wrote.

Hurricane warnings are in effect from just north of Tampa to southeast of Panama City, Fla. Storm-surge warnings cover the Florida Gulf Coast from the southern tip of the Everglades to near Mexico Beach in the Panhandle.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) declared a state of emergency in 61 of the state’s 67 counties ahead of the storm; only six counties in southeast Florida were not included. Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for part or all of at least 26 counties between the Panhandle and the peninsula’s west coast.

Helene will be an exceptionally large storm with a broad wind field. In fact, its size could be in the top 10 percent of hurricanes observed in the region, according to the Hurricane Center. That means its surge and wind impacts will be both greater and wider-reaching than most hurricanes. Tropical storm-force winds could extend more than 200 miles from the center, and tropical storm warnings even extend into Miami, far from where Helene will come ashore. These warnings also stretch into northern Georgia, including Atlanta, South Carolina and western North Carolina. In all, hurricane and tropical storm warnings affect 36 million people from Florida to North Carolina.

Helene is forecast to barrel inland at high speeds, allowing severe winds to penetrate much farther into Georgia than typical. It could be Georgia’s most serious weather event in quite a while, with gusts of 80 to 90 mph possible over southern portions of the state.

Downed trees and power outages are expected to be widespread in both northern Florida and Georgia.

Flooding rains should also affect portions of the Southeast and Tennessee Valley. The southern Appalachians, where the National Weather Service has declared a rare “high risk” of excessive rainfall, could see up to 18 inches. “Catastrophic and life-threatening flash and urban flooding, including landslides, is expected across portions of the southern Appalachians through Friday,” the Hurricane Center wrote.

In addition to probably becoming the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the United States this year, Helene is poised to become the fifth hurricane to hit Florida since 2022 and potentially the ninth major hurricane, rated Category 3 or higher, to make landfall along the Gulf Coast since 2016.

As of 5 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, the center of Helene was 460 miles southwest of Tampa and heading north at 10 mph. Its peak winds were 85 mph — a 40 mph increase since Tuesday morning — making it a Category 1 hurricane. The Hurricane Center wrote that the storm showed the beginnings of a “ragged eye” in satellite imagery, a sign of intensification. (Source: The Washington Post))