Hurricane Helene roared ashore in Florida early Friday morning as forecasters warned the behemoth could create a “nightmare” storm surge across much of the southeastern U.S. dumping dangerous winds and rain in its wake.
It soon weakened to a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center, and continues to diminish while moving further inland over Georgia.
There were at least three storm-related deaths, AP reports, as even before its arrival, the storm delivered power outages for over two million homes and businesses alongside severe flooding in several areas.
The outlet gave precise details on the weather event’s passage noting Helene hit the coast near the mouth of the Aucilla River in the Big Bend area of Florida’s Gulf Coast. The report continued:
It [Helene] had maximum sustained winds estimated at 140 mph (225 kph). That location was only about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of where Hurricane Idalia came ashore last year at nearly the same ferocity and caused widespread damage.
Helene prompted hurricane and flash flood warnings extending far beyond the coast up into northern Georgia and western North Carolina. More than 1.2 million homes and businesses were without power in Florida, more than 190,000 in Georgia and more than 30,000 in the Carolinas, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us. The governors of those states and Alabama and Virginia all declared emergencies.
One person was killed in Florida when a sign fell on their car and two people were reported killed in a possible tornado in south Georgia as the storm approached.
The AP report further noted Helene was moving rapidly inland after making landfall, with the center of the storm set to race from southern to northern Georgia through early Friday morning.
The risk of tornadoes also would continue overnight and into the morning across north and central Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and southern North Carolina, forecasters said.
Later Friday, there would be the risk of tornadoes in Virginia.
As Breitbart News reported, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) delivered a late night update of his own after the storm hit.
A capsized boat washes ashore as Hurricane Helene churns offshore on September 26, 2024 in St. Petersburg Florida. Already a Category 3 storm, Helene was expected to gain further strength before making landfall this evening on Florida’s northwestern coast. Flash flood warnings extend to northern Georgia and western North Carolina. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Speaking with reporters during a lengthy press conference, the governor told people to hunker down while warning against venturing outside.
“It’s very dangerous conditions out there. You need to be, right now, just hunkering down. Now is not the time to be going out. Not only are we seeing it hit landfall here in Northern Florida, you’re still seeing a surge in water rising in parts of Florida far south,” the governor said.