People shovel sand in preparation for possible flooding as Tropical Storm Helene heads toward the state’s Gulf Coast on September 25, 2024 in Tallahassee, Florida.
Sean Rayford Getty Images
Helene became a hurricane on Wednesday after rapidly strengthening in the Caribbean Sea and moving north along the coast of Mexico on its way to the US, leading residents to evacuate, schools to close, and officials to declare states of emergency in Florida and Georgia.
The center of this storm was near the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico on Wednesday, said the US National Hurricane Center, and it is expected to intensify and grow as it crosses the Gulf of Mexico. Heavy rain was forecast for the southeastern US starting Wednesday, with the storm threatening life along Florida’s west coast, according to the agency.
The storm is so powerful that rural areas about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of the Georgia-Florida line are under a hurricane warning. And states as far away as Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana could see rain.
“You’re going to have a big storm move inland, and hurricanes take less time to decay once they’re inland,” said Brian McNoldy, an environmental researcher at the University of Miami.
Forecasters warned of possible storms Wednesday night in western Florida and southern Alabama and said the hurricane risk would increase Thursday, moving into Florida and Georgia and South Carolina.
Helene is expected to become a major hurricane — a Category 3 or higher, with sustained winds of more than 110 mph (177 kph) — on Thursday, the day it is scheduled to make landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast, according to the hurricane center. The agency issued hurricane warnings for parts of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and the northwest coast of Florida, where storm surges of up to 4.5 meters were expected.
Will Marx hunkered down Wednesday in his double-wide mobile home 13 miles inland in Crawfordville, Florida. The 64-year-old retiree put extra jugs of water in his fridge as he watched people move boats and RVs out of the storm’s expected path.
“We’ll know tomorrow, I guess,” he said.
A satellite image showing Hurricane Helene heading toward the Florida coast on Sept. 25, 2024.
NOAA
Mexico is still reeling from Hurricane John hitting one of its coasts. John lashed the South Pacific coast on Monday, killing two people, blowing roof tiles, causing landslides and mudslides, and bringing down dozens of trees, officials said Tuesday.
John strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane in about an hour Monday and made landfall 128 kilometers east of the city of Acapulco, near the town of Punta Maldonado, with sustained winds of 120 mph (193 kph) earlier. weakening to a tropical storm after moving inland.
Helene, which formed on Tuesday in the Caribbean, is expected to move over deep, warm water, causing its strength. The storm was about 500 miles (810 kilometers) southwest of Tampa, Florida, and had sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph), according to the US National Hurricane Center. Forecasters said it was expected to become a major hurricane when its center made landfall in the Big Bend area of ​​northwest Florida’s coast as early as Thursday.
Mara Lezama, the governor of the coastal state of Quintana Roo, shared photos of rain-swept roads and videos of the normally calm, blue waters on the island of Cozumel being battered by angry waves breaking the seawall. In Cancun, high tides threaten to exacerbate the resort town’s beach erosion problem.
Tropical storm warnings were in effect for the upper Florida Keys, south Florida and the northeast coast of Florida and extended north Wednesday morning to Altamaha Sound, Georgia. A tropical storm watch was in effect for the South Carolina coast north of the South Santee River to the Little River Inlet.
Hurricane watches, which are warnings, were also in effect for parts of western Cuba and Florida, including the Tampa Bay area, the hurricane center said.
Dark clouds from Tropical Storm Helene cover the skies over Havana on September 25, 2024.
Yamil Lage Afp | Getty Images
Several states along the west coast and northwest Florida have issued evacuation orders, and schools have planned to close or reduce hours. Gas stations in the Tallahassee area began running out of gas Monday, and water and other supplies are flying off supermarket shelves.
President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in Florida, and federal authorities dispatched generators, food and water, as well as search and rescue and power restoration teams.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has already declared a state of emergency in many parts of the state, said Wednesday that 12 health centers have been evacuated. He urged people to prepare immediately.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp also declared a state of emergency in his state. The storm warning area included Valdosta, a city of 55,000 people. Helene came nearly a year after Hurricane Idalia caused more than $6 million in damage to 1,000 homes and other structures.
In western Cuba, authorities moved cattle to higher ground and sent seven medical teams to communities often cut off by typhoons. Helene was expected to dump heavy rain on the western part of the island which is already suffering from water shortages and intermittent power outages.
The Cayman Islands were recovering after being hit on Tuesday by heavy rains and high tides. Strong winds knocked out power in some areas, while heavy rain and waves of up to 10 feet (3 meters) caused flooding. Schools on the islands remained closed Wednesday as flood warnings continued and residents evacuated their flooded homes.
Helene is the eighth named Atlantic hurricane, which began on June 1. Since 2000, eight major hurricanes have made landfall in Florida, according to Philip Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year due to warmer ocean temperatures.