TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Helene strengthened to become a Category 4 major hurricane Thursday evening on its journey to the eastern Gulf.
Maximum sustained winds are as high as 130 mph.
The hurricane is about 165 miles south of Tallahassee. It is moving more quickly to the north-northeast at 23 mph.
Helene continues to strengthen as a Category 4 with landfall expected after sunset tonight. The storm is not expected to weaken before landfall. The very large wind field of the storm will help protect its inner core from an area of upper level wind shear better than a smaller storm would be able to.
A Hurricane Warning has been raised for Apalachee Bay and all local counties within the WTXL viewing area. This means hurricane-force winds and gusts are expected for a localized area within the warning zone tonight.
While hurricane-force winds will not be felt throughout the entire warning area, wherever the center of the storm comes ashore will likely see winds that meet that criteria.
A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for the entire Big Bend coastline. Storm surge totals could be as high as 15-20 feet in Wakulla, Jefferson, and Taylor counties if peak surge occurs at high tide and the county is on the right side of the storm relative to its movement. Franklin county is likely to be on the west side of the storm which will help lower peak storm surge totals.
A Flood Watch is in effect for all local counties in anticipation of a widespread area of 3-6 inches of rain. Localized areas could see 10 inches plus where the heaviest rain bands set up.
We also have the potential for brief, spin-up tornadoes in the eastern half of our neighborhoods. These will be the neighborhoods that fall on the central and eastern side of the storm. A Tornado Watch is in effect until 10pm EDT for all local counties.
Landfall is expected somewhere between St. Marks and Steinhatchee. This will likely put Tallahassee on the west side of the storm, keeping the strongest winds off to the east. However, the center of the storm moving through the city of Tallahassee cannot be ruled out, so continue to prepare for the worst of the storm.
We are in 'action' stage of hurricane preparedness. It would be a good idea to finalize your travel plans, determine if your home is the safest place to be, and be ready to stay in your chosen place of shelter through the duration of the storm. Be sure to keep devices charged and stay connected to reliable sources of weather and news information.
Stay tuned to ABC 27 First To Know Weather for the latest on the tropics.
