As Helene makes landfall in Florida, it is upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane
“Regardless of how strong it is, it is a very large storm,” Beven said. “It’s going to have impacts that cover a large area.”
Fast-moving Hurricane Helene was advancing across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida on Thursday, posing a threat of an “unsurvivable” storm surge in the northwestern part of the state, along with damaging winds, rains, and flash floods extending hundreds of miles inland across much of the southeastern U.S., according to forecasters.
Upgraded to a Category 2 storm on Thursday morning, Helene is expected to reach major hurricane status—Category 3 or higher—when it makes landfall on Florida’s northwestern coast Thursday evening. As of early Thursday, hurricane and flash flood warnings extended far beyond the coast into south-central Georgia. The governors of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia have all declared states of emergency.
Rain began to blow in during the early hours along coastal U.S. Highway 98, which traverses numerous fishing villages and vacation spots along Florida’s Big Bend. Shuttered gas stations, their windows boarded up with plywood for protection against the storm, dotted the two-lane highway, which was mostly empty at daybreak, with drivers primarily heading northeast toward higher ground.
The storm is predicted to make landfall in the Big Bend region, where Florida’s panhandle and peninsula converge, as noted by Jack Beven, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. “Regardless of how strong it is, it is a very large storm,” Beven said. “It’s going to have impacts that cover a large area.”
The National Weather Service office in Tallahassee warned of storm surges reaching up to 20 feet (6 meters) and stated that conditions could be particularly “catastrophic and unsurvivable” in Florida’s Apalachee Bay. High winds and heavy rains also present significant risks. “This forecast, if realized, is a nightmare surge scenario for Apalachee Bay,” the office warned, urging residents to take any evacuation orders seriously.
This region of Florida, known as the Forgotten Coast, has largely avoided the extensive condo development and commercialization seen in many of Florida's beach areas. Its sparse population cherishes its natural features, including vast salt marshes, tidal pools, barrier islands, and notable locations like Tate’s Hell State Forest and Wakulla Springs, one of the world’s largest freshwater springs.
In Crawfordville, located about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Apalachee Bay, Christine Nazworth was preparing by stocking up on bottled water, baked goods, and premade meals at a Walmart. Despite a mandatory evacuation order issued by Wakulla County, she stated her family would shelter in place. “I’m prayed up,” she said. “Lord have mercy on us. And everybody else that might be in its path.”
Along Florida’s Gulf Coast, school districts and several universities have canceled classes. By Thursday morning, Helene was approximately 320 miles (515 kilometers) southwest of Tampa, moving north-northeast at 12 mph (19 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph). Forecasters expect it to become a Category 3 hurricane, with winds exceeding 110 mph (177 kph).
Although Helene may weaken as it travels inland, its “fast forward speed will allow strong, damaging winds, especially in gusts, to penetrate well inland across the southeastern United States,” the hurricane center reported. Lesser tropical storm warnings have been issued as far north as North Carolina, with warnings that the area could experience prolonged power outages, toppled trees, and severe flooding.
On Wednesday, Helene had already inundated parts of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, causing street flooding and downed trees as it passed offshore near Cancun. The storm formed in the Caribbean Sea on Tuesday, leading the Cuban government to preemptively shut off power in some areas as waves reaching 16 feet (5 meters) impacted Cortes Bay. In the Cayman Islands, schools closed, and residents worked to remove water from flooded homes.
Helene is anticipated to be one of the largest storms in terms of breadth to strike the region in years, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. He noted that since 1988, only three Gulf hurricanes have been larger than Helene’s expected size: 2017’s Irma, 2005’s Wilma, and 1995’s Opal.
Areas 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the Georgia-Florida border are expected to experience hurricane conditions. More than half of Georgia’s public school districts and several universities have canceled classes. For Atlanta, Helene could represent the worst storm to hit a major Southern inland city in 35 years, as stated by University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd.
Landslides may occur in the southern Appalachians, with rainfall anticipated as far away as Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana. Federal authorities have stationed generators, food, and water, as well as search-and-rescue and power restoration teams.
Helene is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began on June 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year due to record-warm ocean temperatures.
In related storm activity, Tropical Storm Isaac formed on Wednesday in the Atlantic and is expected to strengthen as it moves eastward across the open ocean, potentially becoming a hurricane by the end of the week. Isaac was located about 690 miles (1,115 kilometers) northeast of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph), and its swells and winds could impact parts of Bermuda and the Azores by the weekend.
In the Pacific, former Hurricane John reformed as a tropical storm on Wednesday and regained strength as a hurricane by Thursday morning, threatening areas along Mexico’s western coast with flash flooding and mudslides. Officials issued hurricane warnings for southwestern Mexico.
John impacted the country’s southern Pacific coast late Monday, resulting in at least two fatalities, triggering mudslides, and damaging homes and trees. The storm quickly escalated to a Category 3 hurricane and made landfall east of Acapulco before reemerging over the ocean after losing strength inland.
