(NewsNation) — Hurricane Helene is forecast to make landfall Thursday night as a Category 4 storm, threatening Florida’s coast and southern Georgia with the potential for “unsurvivable” storm surges as high as 20 feet and “catastrophic” winds up to 130 mph.
Helene, the fifth hurricane of the Atlantic season this year, will deliver heavy rainfall, flash flooding and a life-threatening storm surge, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Before landfall early Thursday morning, sustained winds were near 90 mph, heading northward. The NHC predicts the winds will intensify reach 130 mph upon landfall.
As of 5 a.m. Eastern, Helene was a Category 1 storm about 350 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, with a northward trajectory. After making landfall in Florida’s Big Bend area in the northwest part of the state, forecasters expect the storm to turn northwestward and slow down over the Tennessee Valley on Friday and Saturday.
More than 20 counties were under voluntary or mandatory evacuation orders as of Thursday morning, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for most of Florida. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster did the same, as wind damage is forecast to extend far beyond the storm’s center and inland across the southeastern U.S.
“There is a danger of catastrophic and unsurvivable storm surge for Apalachee Bay … this forecast, if realized, is a nightmare surge scenario for Apalachee Bay,” the National Weather Service in Tallahassee said, pleading with residents to “please, please, please take any evacuation orders seriously.”
The storm surge causes normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The destructive Hurricane Ian in 2022 had storm surge levels of 10 to 15 feet above ground level. Helene, meanwhile, could produce storm surge of 15-20 feet in some areas.
The NHC warns of prolonged power outages lasting days to weeks, damage to trees and powerlines and inaccessible roads. Tornadoes are also possible.
Florida A&M University in Tallahassee postponed its upcoming college football game against Alabama A&M, while NASA and SpaceX rescheduled a planned astronaut launch.
