TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Fast-moving Hurricane Helene was advancing Thursday across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida, threatening an “unsurvivable” storm surge in northwestern parts of the state as well as damaging winds, rains and flash floods hundreds of miles inland across much of the southeastern U.S., forecasters said.
Helene is expected to be a major hurricane — meaning a Category 3 or higher — when it makes landfall on Florida’s northwestern coast Thursday evening. As of early Thursday, hurricane warnings and flash flood warnings extended far beyond the coast up into south-central Georgia. The governors of Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas have all declared emergencies in their states.
The National Weather Service office in Tallahassee forecast storm surges of up to 20 feet and warned they could be particularly “catastrophic and unsurvivable” in Florida’s Apalachee Bay. It added that high winds and heavy rains also posed risks.
“This forecast, if realized, is a nightmare surge scenario for Apalachee Bay,” the office said. “Please, please, please take any evacuation orders seriously!”
Helene is forecast to be one of the largest storms in breadth in years to hit the region, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. He said since 1988, only three Gulf hurricanes were bigger than Helene’s predicted size: 2017’s Irma, 2005’s Wilma and 1995’s Opal.
Areas 100 miles north of the Georgia-Florida line can expect hurricane conditions. More than half of Georgia’s public school districts and several universities canceled classes.
“This is a very large storm, so you’re going to see tropical weather that’s going to extend hundreds of miles away from the center of the storm,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to have hurricane Category 3 winds on the east coast of Florida, but you are going to have tropical conditions and it’s going to be nasty.”
Early Thursday, Helene was about 350 miles southwest of Tampa and moving north northeast at 12 mph with top sustained winds of 90 mph. Forecasters said it should become a Category 3 or higher hurricane, meaning winds would top 110 mph.
“This area has not had a major hurricane hit in quite some time,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis said a direct hit in the Tallahassee area would cause major debris in the city filled with trees.
“There’s going to be a need to get debris out of the roadways,” DeSantis said, adding that state officials are already working to make sure debris removal contracts are in place.
He pointed out that linemen can’t get in to restore power until the roads are clear.
DeSantis also reminded homeowners who use generators during power outages to keep the devices outside their homes.
“If you use the generator inside your house, that could kill you,” DeSantis. “You can’t let the carbon monoxide get into your home.”
While Helene will likely weaken as it moves inland, its “fast forward speed will allow strong, damaging winds, especially in gusts, to penetrate well inland across the southeastern United States,” including in the southern Appalachian Mountains, the National Hurricane Center said.
The center posted lesser tropical storm warnings as far north as North Carolina, and warned that much of the region could experience prolonged power outages, toppled trees and dangerous flooding.
Federal authorities have positioned generators, food and water, along with search-and-rescue and power restoration teams.
Helene is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1.