Tropical Storm Helene is expected to turn into a major hurricane by Thursday when it approaches the northeastern Gulf Coast, as risks of life-threatening conditions continue to increase along the Florida Panhandle and the state’s Gulf coast, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
Helene, the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, is expected to “rapidly intensify” to a hurricane on Wednesday as it moves over the warm water of the Gulf of Mexico, the NHS said in its late-morning advisory. The storm could then become a major Category 3 hurricane by Thursday.
As of 2 p.m. ET, the center of the storm was 175 miles south of the western tip of Cuba, with sustained winds of 45 mph and higher gusts. the system was moving northwest at 12 mph.
Hurricane watches, which means that “hurricane conditions are possible,” have been issued for a stretch of the west coast of Florida, including Tampa Bay, as well as parts of Mexico an Cuba.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday said 61 counties were under a state of emergency ahead of the potentially devastating storm, with forecast models indicating the system will bring a “significant threat of life-threatening storm surge and damaging wind gusts for the Florida Gulf Coast.”
Latest GRAF model on future Hurricane #Helene. As shear lowers ahead you can see it wrap storms eventually around its core near the Yucatan Channel (this run has it briefly over the actual Peninsula).When in the Gulf of Mexico, intensification occurs…potentially rapidly. pic.twitter.com/s1cxjhZXU3
— Matt Devitt (@MattDevittWX) September 24, 2024
The Florida State Guard has been activated and at least 3,000 members of the Florida National Guard are ready to assist with storm efforts, DeSantis said at a press conference Tuesday morning.
Residents in some areas of Florida’s Big Bend region have been told they might need to evacuate at any minute.
“We are waiting on [the Florida Division of Emergency Management] to advise shelter locations prior to us issuing the evac order,” emergency officials with the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office said in a message shared on social media early Tuesday afternoon.”Please use this time to get ready to leave.”
Florida is not the only state that could experience damaging winds and threats of flash flooding, the NWS’s Weather Prediction Center said Monday. A moderate risk of “excessive rainfall” was also issued for parts of Alabama and Georgia on Thursday.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the storm, the White House said. At his direction, FEMA “has deployed teams to Florida and Alabama to embed with local emergency response personnel to support their efforts, as needed,” White House spokesperson Jeremy Edwards said in a statement.