What you need to know about Hurricane Helene

Here's what ABC Action News Chief Meteorologist Denis Phillips has to say about Hurricane Helene and what you should know:

Helene is about to begin its rapid intensification stage. The NHC has winds of 120 mph at landfall. I'll be honest, it could go higher. The track really hasn't moved much.

Here's what we can expect to see on Wednesday:

• There was a bit of a nudge to the West at 5am, but really nothing noteworthy. New tracks are updated every 6 hours. (5am, 11am, 5pm, 11pm)
  
• All warnings issued on Tuesday remain in effect. Impacts will start to arrive early on Thursday, but the heaviest wind and highest impacts will be later on Thursday afternoon and evening. If the forecast track verifies, sustained hurricane-force winds will mostly remain offshore. It's certainly possible coastal areas could see gusts up to hurricane force though. Inland areas will see lower impacts but still expect tropical storm force winds. Hurricane warnings remain in effect for coastal Pasco, Hernando, and Citrus counties in our viewing area as they are right on the fringe of the stronger winds.
  
• Power outages are likely Thursday afternoon and evening. Again, most will occur along the coast and in our Northern counties where the winds will be stronger.
  
• If this track holds true, this is an extremely dangerous situation for folks around Tallahassee. NHC has winds of around 120 mph at landfall. The core area of extreme winds is usually only about 5 to 10 miles wide. So, the exact spot of landfall is paramount in determining who sees the worst of the winds. If you are planning on evacuating, please do so by this afternoon. It will be too late on Thursday. Students at Florida State University and Florida A&M University should begin feeling the effects of the winds on Thursday morning but the strongest winds will occur near landfall which is forecast to be around 11pm on Thursday night. (Give or take). There is absolutely still a possibility the track changes before landfall. As Floridians, we've seen it over and over again. So just because the "line" goes one place, if you live in the "cone of uncertainty", don't let your guard down. Keep checking in for the latest.
  
• On the plus side, the storm will be moving quickly so freshwater flooding (rainfall) will be on the low side because there won't be as much time to see higher totals. Of course, many areas locally are still saturated so it doesn't take as much to flood.
  
• There will also be a tornado threat on the right side of the storm. Most tropical storms and hurricanes spawn tornadoes, although typically they are small and short-lived. They shouldn't be high on the list of things that you're worrying about today.
  
• Surge is probably the biggest concern for the Bay Area. If you flooded in Idalia or ETA, you'll probably flood with Helene. I have listed the forecast totals from the NHC. It's important to remember these numbers represent the "most reasonable worst-case scenario" for any given spot. That definition is right from the NHC playbook. In this case, I agree with giving worst-case scenarios. It lets people know how bad it could be and then they can decide the best course of action to help keep their families safe. Words to live by: "Hide from the wind, run from the water".
  
• Our team will be updating 24/7 to do our best to answer all your questions. No, we don't know if your flights are canceled, Disney is open, if your cruise will be impacted, or if you can walk your dog at 4:34 pm on Thursday, but we can pretty much handle anything else you've got. Of course with 1000s of messages, it's better to read our posts...they usually cover it all. It's just impossible to keep up with all the direct messages we get when a storm comes this way.
  
• Bottom line, if you live in the Bay Area, do not get lulled into a false sense of security that this storm will stay way to our West. It's a very LARGE storm and impacts will be felt far and wide. Yes, the current track keeps the worst of this storm to our West, but we've seen hurricanes throw us curves before. Let's not let our guard down this far into the game. Once it passes your East/West line of latitude, you can stop worrying of last minute changes. Again, the worst arrives on Thursday afternoon for our area (Thursday night for landfall in the Panhandle) and the surge will be highest between 6pm and 3am Thursday night/Friday morning.
  
• Sorry for the length of this post. I can get pretty wordy. Tonight at 7pm, we will have an hour-long DPL (Denis Phillips LIVE). Not only will it run on Facebook and streaming, but it will also run on our broadcast Channel 28 as well. Hope to see you then. Be safe. Be prepared.

HURRICANE RESOURCES

• ABC Action Weather 24/7
• Interactive Radar
• Hurricane Center
  

ABC Action News meteorologist Greg Dee provides an update on Tropical Storm Helene and its expected impact on the Tampa Bay area.