Helene weakens to tropical storm as it powers through Georgia after striking Florida’s Big Bend as a major hurricane

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Hurricane Helene weakened to a tropical storm by 5 a.m. Friday with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph as it continued barreling north through Georgia at 30 mph.

The system made landfall around 11 p.m., 10 miles west-southwest of Perry just east of the Aucilla River as a catastrophic Category 4 with winds well over 130 mph

Helene continues to move inland over central Georgia and is producing hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall about 40 miles east of Macon and 100 miles southeast of Atlanta.

The storm produced an almost 9-foot storm surge in Cedar Key and clocked extremely high winds at 55 mph with a 99 mph gust at Perry-Foley Airport, the NHC reported at midnight Friday.

Continued weakening is expected, and Helene is expected to become a post-tropical low this afternoon or tonight. However, the fast forward speed will allow strong, damaging winds, especially in gusts, to penetrate well inland across the southeastern United States, including over the higher terrain of the southern Appalachians.

RELATED | Live cams from across Florida: Watch Hurricane Helene’s impact as massive storm hits Gulf Coast | Will bridges close in Jacksonville due to Hurricane Helene? Here’s what you should know | Hurricane Helene expected to bring 3 ft. storm surge along St. Johns River; residents urged to stay inside

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 275 miles mainly to the east of the center. The Marine Corp Air Station at Beaufort, South Carolina, recently reported a wind gust of 75 mph.

The minimum central pressure based on surface observations is 968 mb.

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