‘Catastrophic’ Hurricane Helene bears down on north Florida’s Big Bend

Hurricane Helene has swiftly gained strength as it advances north through the Gulf of Mexico toward the United States, with predictions indicating it could be one of the most perilous storms to strike Florida's coast in recent history.

According to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), Helene intensified as it traversed deep, warm waters on Thursday. Heavy rainfall is expected across the southeastern US, along with a "life-threatening storm surge" affecting the entire west coast of Florida.

“A catastrophic and deadly storm surge is likely along portions of the Florida Big Bend coast,” the NHC warned, forecasting surges could reach as high as 6 meters (20 feet) in Apalachee Bay.

Michael Lowry, a hurricane specialist and storm surge expert with local TV news in Miami, emphasized on social media, “As someone who’s issued these forecasts, I assure you the folks at NHC don’t make these changes lightly. This is as big as it gets.”

Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University, noted that Helene is anticipated to be one of the largest storms in width to impact the area in years. He pointed out that since 1988, only three hurricanes in the Gulf have exceeded Helene’s expected size: Irma in 2017, Wilma in 2005, and Opal in 1995.

Hurricane-force winds are projected to extend up to 95 kilometers (60 miles) from the storm's center, with storm-force winds reaching as far as 555 kilometers (345 miles). Rainfall may affect US states as far inland as Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana.

“Just hope and pray that everybody’s safe,” Connie Dillard expressed while shopping at a grocery store where shelves were running low on water and bread, preparing to leave Tallahassee, Florida's state capital, which is directly in the storm’s path. “That’s all you can do.”

Airports in St. Petersburg, Tallahassee, and Tampa were set to close on Thursday, and 62 hospitals and nursing homes had evacuated their residents on Wednesday.