Hurricane Helene live updates: 3 dead, 2 million without power across 4 states

Helene -- which weakened to a Category 1 hurricane on Friday morning -- made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida on Thursday with 140 mph winds.

Latest Developments

_{Sep 27, 4:54 AM}

65 people rescued from flooding on Florida highway

Members of the Pasco Sheriff’s Office and Pasco County Fire Rescue were working through the night and into the early morning responding to water rescue calls along the US-19 corridor on Florida’s Gulf coast.

As of 3:30 a.m. ET, the Pasco Sheriff's Office said a total of 65 people were rescued, with additional efforts ongoing.

Emergency services received more than 100 calls for assistance due to flooding, Pasco Sheriff's Office wrote on Facebook.

-ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway

_{Sep 27, 4:27 AM}

Extreme flooding hits North Carolina

Severe flooding hit North Carolina in the early hours of Friday as Hurricane Helene brought torrential rainfall to swaths of the Southeast.

Parts of the state saw up to 15 inches of rain with more expected through Friday. Some areas are expecting as much as 20 inches of rain through the course of the storm. Dangerous landslides are also expected.

The National Weather Service in Greenville-Spartanburg issued a flash flood warning for Haywood County in western North Carolina, in effect until 10:15 a.m. Friday.

As of 4:09 a.m., emergency services reported numerous road closures, ongoing water rescues, and flooded homes across Haywood County.

-ABC News’ Max Golembo

_{Sep 27, 4:12 AM}

2 million without power across 4 states

Storm-related outages left more than 2 million customers without power across four states overnight into Friday, according to poweroutages.us .

Nearly 1.3 million customers in Florida lost power as Hurricane Helene made landfall and passed north into Georgia.

In Georgia, 596,194 customers were reported without power early on Friday.

Another 45,045 customers in North Carolina and 155,428 in South Carolina are also without power.

-ABC News' Kori Skillman

_{Sep 27, 3:37 AM}

510,000 in Georgia lose power

The number of customers in Georgia disconnected from the electricity grid rose to 510,265 in the early hours of Friday as Hurricane Helene passed into the state from Florida, according to poweroutages.us .

Another 1.3 million customers in Florida were without power following Helene’s passage north from the Gulf of Mexico.

-ABC News’ David Brennan

_{Sep 27, 3:16 AM}

Helene’s center to pass east of Macon, Georgia

The center of Hurricane Helene is projected to pass east of Macon, Georgia, after 3 a.m. ET, according to the latest forecast.

Hurricane warnings and tropical storm warnings remain in effect through the early morning hours of Friday.

The storm is expected to slow and weaken on Friday, turning northwestward to move through Georgia toward the Tennessee-North Carolina border, the National Hurricane Center said.

-ABC News’ Richard Von Ohlen

_{Sep 27, 2:22 AM}

Helene downgraded to Category 1

Hurricane Helene was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane in the early hours of Friday having moved around 100 miles inland into Florida and Georgia.

Its sustained winds dropped to 90 mph, with further weakening expected through to 5 a.m. ET.

Helene is maintaining speed at around 26 mph, heading north-northeast through central Georgia.

Macon, Atlanta, and Augusta are expected to experience damaging winds and torrential rain over the next two to three hours.

"Life-threatening storm surge, winds and heavy rains continue," the National Hurricane Center wrote on X.

-ABC News' Richard Von Ohlen

_{Sep 27, 2:19 AM}

Helene death toll rises to 3

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp confirmed that two people were killed during Hurricane Helene's passage into Georgia overnight, bringing the storm's total death toll to three.

Kemp said he and his family were "saddened to learn of the loss of two lives in Wheeler County this evening. As we join their families in mourning their deaths, we urge all Georgians to brace for further impact from Helene, remain vigilant and pray for all those affected."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a press conference late Thursday that one person was killed on the I-4 highway near Tampa when a sign fell on a car.

-ABC News' Ahmad Hemingway

_{Sep 27, 3:37 AM}

200,000 lose power in Georgia

More than 200,000 customers were without power in Georgia as Hurricane Helene pushed inland in the early hours of Friday morning, according to poweroutages.us .

The website said 244,657 were without power. More than 1.2 million customers in Florida were also disconnected.

-ABC News’ David Brennan

_{Sep 27, 1:33 AM}

People told to 'remain in place' as Category 2 Helene moves into southern Georgia

The National Hurricane Center has warned residents to "remain in place" as Hurricane Helene moves into southern Georgia as a Category 2 storm.

NHC advises people not to step outside when the calm of the eye is over them, as winds will increase after Helene passes.

Helene made landfall in Perry, Florida, as a Category 4, with 140 mph winds, but the speed of its maximum sustained winds has dropped to 110 mph.

The hurricane is moving across land at 26 mph.

Meanwhile, more than 200,000 customers are without power in Georgia, according to poweroutage.us .

-ABC News' Richard Von Ohlen

_{Sep 27, 1:14 AM}

Wind gusts in Perry, Florida, clock in at 99 mph

Hurricane Helene has brought strong wind gusts across Florida's West Coast.

Perry, where Helene made landfall, recorded wind gusts of 99 mph.

Sarasota-Bradenton Airport in Sarasota reported gusts of 74 mph.

Tampa International Airport saw 68 mph winds

St. Petersburg reported wind gusts of 82 mph.

Clearwater Beach recorded 75 mph winds.

A maritime station in Cedar Key recorded wind gusts of 84 mph, while Egmont Channel noted 81 mph.

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