Hurricane Helene an 'extremely dangerous' Category 4 storm on track to Florida
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ORLANDO, Fla. - UPDATE: Hurricane Helene has made landfall along Florida's Nature Coast. This story will no longer be updated. You can find the latest on Hurricane Helene here.
Original story below:
Hurricane Helene is now an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane, as it moves up Florida's Gulf Coast towards the state's Big Bend region.
It's expected to make landfall Thursday night somewhere in Florida's Big Bend region, though officials have said nearly the entire state will experience dangerous, life-threatening impacts, including "catastrophic" storm surge, dangerous winds, heavy rain, and an increased risk of tornadoes.
In a surprise 6:20 p.m. advisory, the National Hurricane Center said NOAA Hurricane Hunters found that Helene had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph, making it an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane.
Watch Hurricane Helene live cameras as storm nears Florida landfall
As of the 11 p.m. update, Hurricane Helene was 75 miles northwest of Cedar Key, and 40 miles southeast of Tallahassee, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm is moving north-northeast at 24 mph. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the storm's center while tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 310 miles.
Helene had sustained winds of 140 mph and the minimum central pressure was 938 mb.
Satellite view of Hurricane Helene as it moves along Florida's Gulf Coast.
Storm watches and warnings
Nearly all of Florida's 67 counties – aside from a handful – are under some sort of tropical advisory, watch, or warning. Those warnings even extended to parts of eastern Alabama, nearly all of Georgia, and parts of South Carolina.
Much of north, north-central, and north-western Florida are under a tornado watch throughout the night, as Helene barrels towards the Big Bend area.
When will the worst impacts from Hurricane Helene be felt in Central Florida?
Central Florida – Orlando and the surrounding cities – began to feel the impacts of Hurricane Helene on Wednesday. The weather will rapidly deteriorate on Thursday afternoon, including tropical storm-force winds, wind gusts, heavy rain, and the potential for tornado warnings.
Preparing for Hurricane Helene in Central Florida
Hurricane Helene: County-by-county guide to shelters, emergency resources, shelters
Several Florida schools closed ahead of Hurricane Helene. Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando, and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay made operational changes ahead of the storm.
Orlando International Airport and Sanford Orlando International Airport remain open, though some airlines have delayed or canceled some flights. Tampa International Airport closed at 2 a.m. Thursday ahead of Helene, and will not reopen until it completes a damage assessment after Helene passes through.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for several counties ahead of Helene. The White House approved a pre-landfall emergency declaration for Florida.
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