Helene has strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane. The storm has winds of 125 mph which is quite close to a category 4 storm. It is expected to make landfall tonight along the north Florida coast. 

Helene formed in the northwestern Caribbean Sea on Tuesday, Sept. 24. It's the eighth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season and the fifth hurricane.

What You Need To Know

  • Hurricane Helene strengthens to Category 3

  • It's expected to maintain intensity 

  • Helene will make landfall in Florida on tonight

Helene is moving north-northeast into the eastern Gulf of Mexico with maximum winds of 125 mph. It will continue to strengthen as it turns north-northeast.

Conditions are favorable for intensification in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, with warm water and low wind shear in place. It should allow Helene to quickly strengthen, becoming a major hurricane by this afternoon.

It's possible that Helene could undergo rapid intensification in the eastern Gulf before making landfall as a major hurricane in the Big Bend.

The latest forecast has Helene moving inland tonight in the Florida Panhandle as a high end category 3 hurricane. Wind speeds could exceed 125 mph at landfall. 

The risk of life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds begins today through Friday morning along portions of the Gulf Coast, especially the Florida Panhandle and Florida's west coast.

Tropical Storm and Hurricane Warnings are in effect across Florida and the Southeast.

Along with hurricane-force winds, dangerous storm surge is expected and Storm Surge Warnings have been issued along Florida's Gulf Coast. Storm surge will be highest in the Big Bend and Nature Coast area, with inundation up to 12 to 15 feet above ground level, with some areas just east of landfall seeing 15+ feet of storm surge.

There is still uncertainty in the specific track and intensity of the storm, but most models are consistent with the storm moving north across the eastern Gulf, making landfall somewhere around Florida's Big Bend.

Here's a look at the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season so far.

More Storm Season Resources

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